The Black Rose and the White Flame
by andrew135246
Summary: Two months after Roman Torchwick's attack on Vale, life seems to have returned to normal over at Beacon Academy. But as things come back to normal, what was left behind comes back, mainly team RWBY's various emotions. Ladybug and Freezerburn fic. Set as T for now but could go to M in the far future. UPDATE: I'M BACK EVERYONE! (As of 5/2/2015)
1. Prologue: Switching Things Up

**Prologue: Switching Things Up**

It's been two months since the last incident with Roman Torchwick and the White Fang. No one has seen sight of him, or the mysterious girl who helped save the day with her odd weapon assortment. Life has resumed to near normal in the town of Vale, leaving things to return as they once were.

It was cold in Beacon's auditorium area, the stage empty save for the single pedestal with a microphone attached. It was that time of month once again at Beacon Academy, the day where the various students at Beacon Academy could truly test their skills they had learned. It was on this day that each respective team would be assigned a locally found Grimm nest, and would use what they had been learning to rid the surrounding areas of the Grimm.

Team RWBY had been one of the first teams to arrive to the Auditorium, mainly in part to Yang and Ruby's Enthusiasm to being able to fight Grimm. Blake was happy to get out, but wasn't exactly excited to go, preferring to be able to continue reading her book "Ninjas of Love", or as she changed the outside cover to read "Faunus descrimiNATION", which she claimed was meant to be about the Faunus who worked at reaching equality. However she was well aware that Yang knew what she was reading, and simply wasn't looking forward to her constant teasing. Weiss on the other hand kept her usual scowel, not feeling the thrill of being able to spend the day following around her reckless leader with her speed semblence. She could barely keep up with Ruby's speed with her glyphs, let alone hold control of Ruby before she rushes into a fight without thinking, feeling like she was in a permanent baby-sitting position.

Once it had appeared all of the teams had arrived Ozpin and Goodwich had taken the stage, slowly walking to the center as everyone in the Auditorium began to settle down.

"Hello again students. Welcome to the monthly Grimm clearing, your noble duty as Huntsman and Huntresses in training."

A small mixture of cheers and groans could be heard from the audience, with the majority of the students remaining silent.

"For this month's hunt in light of recent events we have decided on a different course of action for partners." The entire room became silent, wondering what Ozpin had in store for them. "You will still report to the sections your team has been assigned to. However you will for today only be switching partners. Your current partner and yourself must instead spend the day with one of your other teammates, and venture into battle with him or her. We will be leaving in five minutes time."

Large amounts of rustling could be heard among the crowd, various teams beginning to look at each other, and team RWBY was no exception. Weiss and Blake happened to be standing next to each other at the time, and Ruby and Yang were the same way. Weiss and Blake began to stare at each other, both figuring that Yang and Ruby would be partners being sisters, and that the two would have to endure each other for the day. Both were also thinking about how much worse their day had just become.

"Psst, Rubes" Yang whispered into Ruby's ear.

"Yea Yang, what is it?" Ruby began to whisper back.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"That we're going to be the best new partners for a day ever?" Ruby said with a grin from ear to ear.

"No...well kinda but no" Ruby's smirk lessened, but was still present at Yang's comment. "I'm thinking you and I don't be partners for today, rather you take Blake and I take Weiss."

Ruby's smirk immediately turned into a frown, thinking Yang didn't want to be her partner. Before she could even speak, Yang noticed and reassured her, "Don't worry, it's not that I don't love you or anything, you're still the best little sister ever" as Yang decides to give Ruby a small Nuggie, "it's just that with what's been going on with Blake lately, I don't think Weiss would necessarily like to spend the day with someone who was once an enemy to her family."

Ruby's frown turned into a straight face of understanding at her sister's words. Ruby being her partner knew that even though Weiss had forgiven Blake for what she did, it's not as if something that strong can be cleared up over night. She was sure that a small part of Weiss was still upset at Blake, and did not need anything like that coming out in the heat of battle. With that in mind, Ruby nodded at Yang and moved next to Blake, leaving Yang to walk up to Weiss.

"You and Yang aren't going to be partners today Ruby?" Blake said questionably.

Weiss looked at Yang standing next to her, "Yea, don't you want to be with her Yang?"

Yang looked at Weiss with a smile "Oh come on Weissy, are you really saying you don't want to spend the day with me?", as she began to put on a fake pout.

Weiss began to put her scowl back on "Get away from me you brute!"

Yang immediately pulled her in for her classic bear hug "Nope, you're allllllllll mine today!" Ruby and Blake were chuckling in the background, trying not to anger Weiss more as Yang was crushing her.

"Sooooooo" Ruby looked questionably at Blake "Partners?"

Blake gave a small smile back "Of course Ruby, why not?"

Ruby then gave Blake a smaller version of Yang's bear hug, which was more like a slightly bigger hug, although rather than trying to struggle like Weiss, Blake's smile simply widened at her leader's sudden embrace.

As Ozpin took the stage once more telling the students it was time to leave, both sisters removed their victims from their hugs and all the students began moving towards their sectors of Grimm to clear out for the day, team RWBY included.

What the heiress and the faunus were hiding from the sisters however, was that they were both hiding blushes when their new partners gave them their embrace.

**A/N HAI GUISE! Welcome to my 1****st**** ever FanFic :D**

**Personally I never thought I would do it, I figured I was doomed to only reading them never writing, but hey, LOOK AT WHAT I DID :p**

**So anyways, I'm looking for any form of constructive criticism you guys are willing to give, please. I'm not the best writer, the only reason why I'm really doing this is because the idea's been in my head for quite some time now and I wanted to give it a shot, so reviews and things of the sort would be awesome. Now I have the next 3 or 4 chapters or so mostly planned out, but if anyone has any specific ideas or thoughts on how to bring the ship together please let me know, I'd be happy to reply and share my thoughts with you guys :). I'm hoping to upload once or twice a week at least, depending on how much of this story I can get an idea for as time goes on. Anyway guys I hope you enjoyed the chapter and I'll be seeing you again soon I hope :D**

**Much love,**

**Andrew (135246)**

P.S. As per the standard I do not own or have any part in RWBY, it is owned by Roosterteeth and our lord and Savior Monty Oum. I am simply a disciple writing about what's on my mind.


	2. Chapter 1: Preparations

**A/N Hai Guise :3**

**So I'll admit there were two things I didn't expect so far:  
1\. How quickly I'd manage to write the 1****st**** chapter. That's what not being able to sleep and a boring start to work will get you :p  
2\. How many people would have already seen and favored the story! I mean I know 175 views and 10 favorites isn't a lot but as far as I'm concerned that's AWESOME! I was expecting, like, that one A$$hole guy who would review me saying "Your story sucks go home" and like 10 views  
Not like I would stop writing if that happened anyway but still :p**

**Anyway here's the next chapter in Black Rose &amp; White Flame! It's still a little prologue-y but I figured it'll be much more helpful for the transition in the upcoming chapters of the hunt.  
Feel free to review and tell me what'cha think, and of course also make sure to hit that favorite/follow button as well if you like what I got so far :).  
I hope you guys enjoy! **

Team RWBY set out on their trip to clear out the Grimm nest just as every other month. It happened to be in the exact same place every month, about five miles North-East of vale. The area consisted of a forest-like clearing that was encompassed in the middle of a fork in the road. This being the case team RWBY had always found it more beneficial to work with their respective partner and take one side each, and today was no different even with their new partners.

Also as each other month the trip was silent. Usually it was out of pure lack of things to say, after all living with each other it wasn't like they had any information to catch up on. Usually Ruby and Yang were excited to get to fighting, and Blake and Weiss were simply following in their wake.

Yang and Ruby were just as excited before, ready to rid the world of more Grimm, or at least Ruby was. Ruby always wanted to make the world a safer place for those who lived in it, it was her sole reason for becoming a huntress in the first place. Yang actually just really missed getting to use actual explosive rounds with Ember Celica, and not the flash shells used in training. They flew like the explosive rounds, they looked like the explosive rounds, but nothing beat the gunpowder smell in the left behind residue after each shot.  
Of course the rounds hitting the Grimm is the important part…yea that's the important part.

Weiss and Blake were silent like before, but not because of lack of things to say. Their minds were just a little...preoccupied, with what happened previously. Both of them were still thinking of the hugs each of the sisters had given them previously, and just as much so wondering why they were thinking about it so much. It wasn't as if they had never received hugs from either before; Yang was notorious for her crushing bear hugs, and Ruby wasn't the most conserved person in the world, so why were either of those hugs so special? As these thought plagued their thoughts they mindlessly followed their new partners, watching as either made an occasional comment about the upcoming hunt to her sister.

Eventually they had reached the area where they were supposed to clear out the Grimm. Realizing that they were there, Weiss and Blake finally snapped out of their trances in time to hear the end of Ruby's "briefing", which they both knew very well was her trying to estimate how much Grimm they were fighting. They also knew very well she was mostly wrong, but listened intently anyway.

"...and probably a few other ursa on the right side. Anyways, I say me and Blake go to the left side of the clearing, Yang and Weiss you take the right side. We'll make sure to meet here in two hours, and should any delays come up we'll send a message on our scrolls, sound good?"

Yang looked intently at her sister, "Fine with me sis!" She then turned her face to Weiss "Weissy?"

Having returned to reality Weiss' scowl returned to her face before Yang even finished the sentence. "Do not call me that Xiao Long!"

Yang's smile turned into a devilish smirk looking at Weiss "I'll take that as a yes." Weiss simply rolled her eyes and looked back at Ruby. Yang could never seem to pin Weiss down, her harmless teasing never seemed to get the job done around Weiss. Ruby usually laughed when Yang would joke and tease, living with Yang for pretty much her entire life tended to do that. Even Blake found some humor in her joking on occasion, although anything about her cat ears was strictly off limits. Weiss seemed to be the only one who would never seem to enjoy herself when she would joke, whether at her or someone else. Yang had decided to make today her chance to change that. Before the day was over she would have her temporary partner genuinely laugh at least once!  
Pushing that aside for the moment she directed her attention back to Ruby as she finished her leaderly briefing.

Ruby looked at the two and did her best to suppress a giggle. She knew that now was the time to be a leader and not the little kid she wanted to be. "Sounds good you two." She then looked back at Blake "So you're ok with taking the left side with me Blake?"

Blake looked back at her leader with a smile "Sure thing Ruby, whatever you say."

Ruby's face suddenly turned into a widened grin, feeling confident in her organization of the Grimm clearing. She may have been the leader of team RWBY for a while now, but there were still a lot of times when she wasn't sure of what she was doing. After all Yang would always tease Ruby whenever given the chance, then again she would expect no less of her sister. Then there was Weiss, who often would scold Ruby at anything she would do, but she was her partner, so she's come to expect it no matter how hard she tried. Blake was the only person on Team RWBY who's reaction Ruby felt like she had to earn, not automatically expecting some kind of reaction out of Blake. Seeing Blake smile and agree with her, especially knowing how she's usually more quiet and self-reserved, Ruby can't help but feel a small bit of accomplishment.

Having their plans set, Ruby knew they were ready to begin their hunt. They looked at her scroll to see it was a little before 2:30. "So we meet back here at 4:30 everyone?"

Everyone nodded at Ruby. Knowing the plans were in place, Ruby finally said "Alright then, let's go...TEAM RWBY!" She preceded to run towards her side of the area, not using her semblance knowing that Blake was still behind her. Blake, realizing that their young leader was already on her way, made haste towards the left side of the clearing, following Ruby while she was still in view to catch up before her semblance kicked in. Weiss and Yang decided to more walk leisurely towards their side of the area, each knowing there was no distinct reason to rush.

Both of the pairs were off, ready to spend some quality time with their new partners.

**A/N Again, hope you guys enjoyed! Currently I'm at work so for all I know if things stay slow maybe I'll write up the next chapter too ;D**

**See you guys soon!**

**Andrew (135246)**

P.S. Again, I do not own or have any part of RWBY. RWBY is owned by RoosterTeeth and our lord and savior Monty Oum. I am simply one of many disciples writing what comes to my mind.


	3. Chapter 2: Full Speed

**A/N** **Hai Guise :3**

**So here we are again, another chapter in The Black Rose and the White Flame.  
So for the most part this one here will be the Ladybug side of things, showing Blake and Ruby's interactions with each other on their half of the hunt.  
Don't you worry Freezerburn fans, you're coming up next chapter :D**

**Lately things are a little slow at work so I'm able to write a little more frequently, I will warn you though once things eventually pick up I may not be as frequent. Like I said in the beginning though I will make sure to post at least once a week, if not an actual post then at least an announcement telling you guys why. This much I promise :D**

**Anyways remember to give a review at the end if you feel the desire to, and other then that I hope you guys enjoy!**

Being near 2:30 the sun was for the most part up but slightly set given the time of day. Favoring the right side of the sky, all the shadows of the surrounding trees could be seen drooping down to the left side of the forest. Blake didn't exactly seem to mind this, her Faunus vision allowing her to see just as well in the dark as in the light. Ruby on the other hand was moving way too fast to even care, dashing through the trees with inhuman speed thanks to her semblance.

It hadn't been too long after Ruby started running that Blake had managed to catch up to her. Knowing that her new partner wasn't completely in the dust Ruby decided to let her semblance kick in completely and let loose. Something about being able to run as fast as she did made Ruby feel free, as if the troubles of the world were off of her shoulders. Roman didn't exist, Grimm were ridden from the world, everything was just at peace. That is until Ruby had forced herself to stop.

Being used to Weiss trailing behind her Ruby knew that every minute or so she would have to stop to help Weiss keep up. Weiss never saw Ruby stop however; Ruby never let Weiss realize just how fast she was with her semblance, not wanting her to feel inadequate. To prevent this she always made a habit of stopping every minute, letting Weiss close the gap slightly, and then activating her semblance once more, keeping up the pace.

Ruby had stopped as per usual, waiting to hear or see some sort of visual of Blake so she could continue her usual trip. After waiting about fifteen seconds, she realized something: Blake didn't have the same jumping as Weiss did with her glyphs, and immediately began to worry she had left her partner too far behind alone. She was starting to think of turning around to find her, worrying where she might be, if she was ok, if she could fend for herself against the amount of Grimm…

"…Why did we stop?" Ruby let out a high-pitch shriek of fear, not realizing Blake had appeared right behind her. "Did you spot any Grimm this close to the edge of the area?"

After turning and seeing Blake, Ruby's face was that of shock. You would think it was the face of a cartoon when the monster is found right behind the main character. Shaking it off, in a very obvious head-shake, she addressed the questioned-looking Faunus in front of her.

"H-How…how did you get here so fast?" Blake could see the surprise on Ruby's face.

"When I saw you use your semblance I decided to pick up the pace a bit." Blake stood there eying Ruby, realizing she was still a little confused.  
"More often than not when running with the rest of you I've tried to dumb down my running a bit, making sure to maintain a group when we go into battle and in the beginning hiding my Faunus nature." Blake began to think back to the days when she had tried so hard to hide that she was a faunus from her teammates. She grew a little upset at the thought, only to be brought back in remembering that they were past that now. Going back to what she was saying previously, "Seeing that it's just us and knowing you have your semblance I didn't see the need to really slow down, so I went my more natural running pace."

Ruby's face of confusion had turned into a face of awe, surprised that Blake was able to near keep-up with her, even with her speed semblance.

"Wow, you're that fast?" Ruby said maintaining her awe, "I had no idea!"

Blake began to grin slightly from her leaders compliments. It was barely noticeable, and Ruby didn't seem to think anything of it

_She looks so cute when she's surprised._

Blake immediately pushed the thought out of her head, having no idea where it came from. She went back to Ruby's statement, re-gaining her composure.

"Well it's no secret that most Faunus are more physically adept then the average human. Granted it's been a while since I've run as fast as I just did, but I should be able to stay close behind you without any problems."

"So…I don't have to keep stopping when I run anymore?" Ruby began jumping up and down and had the biggest smile on her face knowing she could run to her hearts content  
All she thought in her head was _Yes! Yes! Yes!_, immediately replaced with _Best temporary partner EVER!_

Blake on the other hand while smiling at her leaders childish antics had a questionable look mixed in. "What do you mean by stopping?"

Ruby's enthusiasm died down a bit, remembering that no one knew about her stopping periodically for Weiss. She began to blush a bit and look slightly nervous at being caught. It wasn't so much that she was embarrassed for stopping, but rather that she didn't want Weiss to know and get mad.  
"Well…" Blake had looked at Ruby intently, listening to what she had to say in curiosity. "Usually when me and Weiss go on these outings I stop running every once in a while so she can catch up." She began to blush a little more at the thought of how Weiss would be scolding her by now. "She usually takes a while and I didn't want her to end up losing me like the first day we met, so I stop every now and then to make sure she has time to get closer to where I go, so she doesn't get mad."

Blake looked at Ruby with a sort of surprised pride on her face. She never really realized how much Ruby tried to do for Weiss to keep her happy, or at least keep her from anger. Not only did she try her best for her team, giving encouraging words and trying her best to be a leader at every turn, but she went above and beyond to try to impress Weiss.  
"That's very nice of you to do Ruby, but now, Oof-"

Blake was interrupted by Ruby giving Blake a big hug with plenty of force put onto it, her face one of fear as she half screamed "Please Please PLEASEEEEE don't tell Weiss! I don't want her getting mad at me again like that first day we became partners." Ruby began to lightly sob while pushing herself into Blake. "I've come so far in trying to get her to like me…I don't want her to hate me again!"

Blake's face had turned into one of sadness, but her eyes matched that of Weiss' staring angrily at someone, only without someone to stare at. _  
Is Ruby honestly that scared of the Ice Princess? I mean I know me and Yang have our angry moments when she teases me a little too far, god how many times, but it's never been anything like this. I couldn't imagine what that would be like, spending every waking moment trying to prove your worth to your partner.  
_In that moment Blake had realized that Ruby wasn't trying to impress Weiss, she was trying to show Weiss that she was worth being her partner, and knowing Weiss that couldn't have been so easy. She looked down at her leader, a new sense of sadness behind her gaze.  
_Oh Ruby, I hate having to see you like this._

Blake began returning Ruby's hug, turning Ruby's tackle onto her into a warm embrace, trying her best to comfort Ruby in her sudden sadness.  
_It may only be for today Ruby, but I won't ever make you feel like you need to impress me. I already am with all you do for us, both as friends and as your team._  
She slowly started rubbing Ruby's back with her free hand, trying to reassure Ruby that she was safe where she was.

Ruby slowly started to relax in Blake's arms, thankful for the embrace Blake had given her. She was used to getting hugged by Yang which usually resulted in her arm going numb from lack of blood flow, and Weiss not returning the slightest bit of her affection she tried to give her partner. Having someone return the hug for once without it being overpowering…it was new, in a good way.

Before removing herself from the hug Blake calmly said to Ruby, "Don't worry, she'll never know." Blake rubbed her back a little lighter, "It'll be our little secret, ok, partner?"

Ruby simply nodded at Blake, not even realizing she started sniffling before from her emotional outbreak, even though now they were a distant memory, thanks to Blake that is.

Having regained her composure, Ruby focused back to their mission at hand. "We shouldn't be too far from our section of the Grimm clearing, you'll be fine if I go full speed?" A slight grin returned to her face remembering that she could run at her full speed now that she was with Blake.

Blake simply nodded, "Even if you get too far out of my sight my hearing and your pedals should help me find you. Just try to make some form of light sound when you stop so I can slow down." She then smiled at her leader, "Run to your heart's content."

Ruby's grin grew wider at those last five words. She nodded at Blake and simply said, "Okay, here we…GO!", beginning to use the entirety of her semblance to run forward. Smiling at the rose petals that were in her wake, Blake simply smiled for a second.  
_I'm glad I can make you happy Ruby._  
Not usually being the emotional one Blake was a little caught-off guard at her thoughts, but didn't dismiss them as she had before. She simply kept her smile and began chasing after Ruby, not wanting to lose her too fast.

Meanwhile, enjoying the speed she could finally use, Ruby's mind began to wander as she made her way through the clearing as she had on the other Grimm outings. Thinking back to what happened previously, only one thought consistently crossed her mind:

_Well, that was nice._

**A/N Holllllllllllllllllly Crap, that was longer then I had expected xD**

**My original thought process was to have one chapter of each Ruby/Blake and Weiss/Yang's entire outing, but this seems to have gone much more in-detail then I thought it would've xD**

**So with that in mind I'll share you guys with my general thought process for what's to come as of yet (obviously I won't give anything away :3):**

**So my original thought was Prologue with introducing start, 1****st**** chapter preparing for the hunt, 2/3 being each hunt, aka one for Ruby/Blake another Weiss/Yang, then 4 being the reflection walk back/return to Beacon and kinda just everyone's general thoughts. After that it's up in the air to my imagination and all of your opinions!**

**Now obviously seeing that I've come into this much detail so far 2-3 will probably be 2-5, one chapter for each pairs start (similar to this one) and another for each pair actually fighting Grimm. I personally think this works better because you kinda get to see how each could work out both on a personal level and a teamwork level as fighters. **

**So with that in mind make sure to tell me what you guys think of everything as a whole, especially if you guys have any kind of idea on how I can write something or make the relationships grow! Should any idea be used at all I'll make sure to give you guys a shout-out and credit. Hell even the smallest of ideas can grow into the greatest of stories, after all look at what I'm writing in the first place ;D**

**Anyways, you guys rock and I'm glad I'm already at over 500 views! Again, was expecting like 10 and a$$hole review to start, so I'm glad you guys seem to like it so much :)  
See ya soon!**

**Warm regards,  
Andrew (135246)**


	4. Chapter 3: Cold Laughter

**A/N Hai Guise :3**

**So here it is, Chapter 3 of The Black Rose and the White Flame.  
Like I promised, this is a chapter for all you Freezerburn fans. I think I did it well, it ended up being a biggggg emotional response from one of the two, you'll have to read to find out which ;).**

**ONE THING: I feel the need to clarify on this because I'm sure people will ask about it.  
For the purpose of the story, I'm assuming that Ruby and Yang are half-sisters. I'm taking the approach that Ruby's mom had some sort of affair with her and Yang's dad, Ruby lived alone with her mom, and when she died from a fatal accident (assumably fighting Grimm) Ruby's biological father had taken her in. I take this approach because our lord and savior Mr. Oum has said that Ruby and Yang are blood related. That being said, this approach worked better for me personally, you'll see why later.**

**Anyways, Enjoy!**

The sun was slightly beginning to set more as the clock almost hit 3. Having less trees then the left side of their clearing, Weiss and Yang had simply stayed near the few trees in their section, paying attention for any Grimm possibly out in the more open areas.

Weiss enjoying not having to run or use her glyphs to keep up with her new partner this time around. Partnered with Ruby and her speed semblance Weiss more often than not relied on her glyphs to keep up with the reckless scythe-wielder when they were traveling, and even that wasn't enough. She was enjoying being able to travel with Yang, who at least held enough self-control to go running off at untraceable speed at a moment's notice. She let herself relax a bit and mindlessly walk with Yang through their part of the clearing.

Yang on the other hand was getting bored. Don't get the wrong idea, at the start Yang was loving the relaxation after a stressful week back at school, especially after Professor Port's 'inspiring' lectures. But usually Blake would have at the very least started moving faster by this point, trying to get the mission underway. She would have said something to the Heiress about moving, but Yang took one look and could see the peacefulness in her facial expression, no longer its usual scowl. As much as Yang may have wanted to get in and bash some Grimm with her precious gauntlets, she didn't want to ruin Weiss' rare good mood.

With that in mind, Yang thought back to her original mission today: _make the snow angel laugh_. Yang was determined to show Weiss that she could be friendly around the team, especially around Yang. As much as she knew her teasing went too far sometimes, she means for it to be a kind of connection she makes with those around her, especially her team. Ruby's come to live with it, and Blake's gotten plenty over the course of their time as partners. Weiss was lacking in quantity of teasing, and Yang planned to make up for lost time.  
She figured now if any time would be the best to make Weiss laugh. After all Weiss was happy and at peace, a rare quality to see in Weiss if at all. Yang just had to find an opening.

_Might as well start with some simple conversation_ Yang thought, looking for her chance to strike. "Enjoying yourself there Weiss?"

Breaking out of her slight trance, Weiss nodded and looked at Yang intently. "Yes actually, it's really nice to be able to not be running after Ruby and her falling rose pedals for once." Weiss meant that completely. She hated having to use all her energy and part of her Aura just to follow Ruby, let alone keep up with her.

Yang could understand that, knowing how Ruby could get when she was hunting, but she didn't find the opening she was looking for. _Hm…nothing there. Let me try again.__  
_"Fair enough. I can understand wanting a break from chasing Ruby. As long as I've lived with the girl I've been chasing her and trying to keep her out of trouble. Cookies were a great help."

Weiss smirked a bit at the thought of a young Yang running after an even younger Ruby, imagining how long they must have known each other. Weiss and the team had known Ruby was actually Yang's half-sister, but also knew that Yang hadn't met Ruby since she was 8 and Ruby was 6, so they didn't exactly grow up together.

A small wind gust had blown their way, and Weiss immediately made note of it "I will admit though it's a little chilly outside, I wish I had brought warmer apparel to wear today."

_Gotcha._ Yang said internally, finding her opening to have a little fun with Weiss. "Really? The Ice Princess not liking the cold? I'm surprised you're not out here in a swimsuit."

Weiss' scowl was immediately back on her face. "And here I was enjoying my walk for once, nice job Yang", with some obvious discontent in her voice.  
_Should have figured Yang of all people couldn't just leave a peaceful moment be. Sometimes she's worse than Ruby.__  
_  
_Okayyyyyyy, maybe 'Ice Princess' was too strong?_ Yang had tried to think of her next attempt very carefully. _Maybe something more related to the both of us? Yea let's try that!_ Her charisma was already back as she prepared her next pun.  
"Oh come on Weiss, no need to be so cold! Here, let me try to warm you up a bit." Yang began flaring her semblance ever so slightly, allowing heat to resonate around her, making the area considerably warmer.

_First she ruins my walk with her teasing, now she goes and does something reckless like this?_ Weiss found herself upset at Yang's antics, remembering that she was related to Ruby, and apparently had the capacity to be just as childish.  
"Will you stop it Yang!? In case you haven't noticed lately I don't exactly like the comments, so what makes you think I would now?"

_Great, looks like my plans failed. Might as well try to calm her down before the whole forest hears us coming_.  
"Ok ok chill out Weiss, I was just trying too-"

Weiss was simply not in the mood for whatever Yang had to say and cut her off mid-sentence: "I don't want to hear it Xiao Long. I will never understand why you keep up this constant teasing nature you have about you everywhere you go. Honestly I feel like sometimes Ruby gets her childish antics from you more than her actual age!"

_Oh boy, why did she have to bring Ruby into this?_ Yang could feel her eyes start to turn red from the anger, but forced herself to calm down, not needing to make Weiss any more angry then she already was. "Look I'm sorry, it's not that I mean to keep-"

Weiss decided to cut her off again. Not even thinking that Yang was about to explain her behavior, she continued with her rant. "Then why? Why do you keep doing this when it's so obvious that I never enjoy it and that it does nothing but bother the only person on our whole team with a brain?"

Yang couldn't control her temper anymore at this point. Her semblance was full on, her messy gold hair appearing with flames on the end, with Yang's eyes turning a full crimson red.

Weiss immediately realized what she said upon seeing Yang. _Oh great, now I have to deal with the evil of the world and the wildfire over here._  
It slightly crossed Weiss' mind that she just made a pun in her head, but seeing Yang in front of her she didn't have the chance to think much of it.

Yang was giving Weiss the same stare as the Ursa who had cut off part of her hair on their 2nd day at Beacon, and felt like doing what she did to it with Ember Celica. "IT'S THE ONLY WAY I KNOW HOW TO KEEP EVERYONE HAPPY OK?"

_Wait…What?  
_Weiss looked as if the words hadn't phased her, but on the inside she was trying to comprehend what was said, not understanding what Yang meant.  
"What on Earth are you talking about?" She said it a little more harshly then she would have liked, but the words were said nonetheless.

Yang kept her eyes closed, the flames around her hair slowly fading, and feeling her eyes slowly return to their original color. When she opened them next to look back at Weiss, some small tears had begun to form at the corners of her eyes.

_Is Yang…crying?  
_Weiss had seen Yang fight countless Grimm, take constant hits, stare down the toughest foes with the same confident smirk on her face. But never in her life did Weiss ever imagine seeing Yang this vulnerable, this thrown off, this…_alone…_

"…It's not easy being a big sister figure, you know that?" Yang hadn't even noticed Weiss looking at her, or let alone where she stood. She was lost in her own emotions, as her mind began to unravel.  
"When I first met R-Ruby, my dad told me about how she was my new sister, and it would be my job to love her and take care of her. For the past nine years of my life…I've given everything for her!" She could feel the anger coming back to her voice, but didn't try to restrain it. "She was always so sad and worried because of what happened to her mom, and I felt like I was a failure as a new sister. She had nothing…if I had shown one lack in confidence she would've felt lost, not knowing what was going on around her, and I would never let that happen to her, not again."

Weiss could realize that Yang wasn't exactly enjoying reliving these memories, so she tried her best in the moment to defuse the situation. "Look Yang, I'm sorry I had yelled at-"

Yang's Aura began to flare slightly as she pointed at Weiss, clear anger in her expression. "SHUT UP! It's my turn to speak here Princess!"

_I've never seen Yang like this before…  
_Weiss hadn't known how to respond to the sudden outbreak, so she simply stood there shocked and let Yang continue.

"The only thing I could do to keep Ruby happy was give her every moment of my time I could. We would always come home from school, I would ask her how her day was and we would talk and play for hours until she fell asleep. I almost never saw my friends and did anything else but spend time with her." Weiss' expression slowly turned to a saddened understanding, realizing what Yang did for her sister. But Yang took no notice of it as she was nearing the end of her point.

"Ruby didn't have a life when I met her, so I gave her mine."

The words had penetrated Weiss like a bullet from Crescent Rose.  
_My god…Yang…_

The flames on Yang's hair became more present, as her eyes got closer and closer to their previous shade of red. "All I've ever known is making Ruby happy, my whole life has been keeping a smile on her face…and that's the reason why I tease and joke as much as I do."  
Her eye color was slowly returning to normal, but the flames on her hair stayed the way they were.  
"I know the teasing bothers you, I really do. But when you've spent your entire life doing the same thing…i-it's hard to do anything differently." The held back tears slowly became more prevalent as her eye color began to return.  
"I see you and Blake as my family too, not just Ruby. I care about you both just as much as I care for her, so I've just been doing the only thing I know h-how to do: try to make you all h-happy."

Weiss had stood there the whole time, trying to process all of what Yang had just said to her.  
_She…she did all that for Ruby. All the teasing and all the bad jokes…they were for Ruby…_She couldn't imagine the idea of giving up her whole life for anyone, especially someone who wasn't completely blood related. _And now she…she sees me as family. Even after everything I've said to the three of them, I'm still an important part of her life. _

At any other point when Weiss would look at Yang, she would see an overconfident tom-boy who loved to make her angry. But now, as she stood there alone in front of her, all Weiss could see was a scared girl who was holding up a lot more than just herself.  
_Yang…I'm sorry…I'm so sorry_

Yang had shut her eyes, trying her best to maintain her semblance and hold back the tears that were filling up inside. She nearly succeeded with her tears, with the exception of one or two from each eye as she forced them shut harder to try to avoid more.

Yang stood there waiting for her heat to die down from her semblance. She felt more surround her body, and focused on trying to make it die down. When it hadn't, she opened her eyes to see that it wasn't her semblance, but rather Weiss wrapping her arms around her.  
She wasn't sure why Weiss had decided to hug her, but barely even could consciously think at that point. She unconsciously wrapped her arms back around the heiress as she let a few more stray tears fall down her cheeks, temporarily taking refuge from her overwhelming burdens in Weiss' arms.

The sight of Yang so upset had overwhelmed Weiss. She was rarely one to show any kind of outward affection, or even general emotion. But seeing Yang in that moment, something inside herself that she couldn't fathom had compelled her to go and comfort the brawler as best she could. _  
I do appreciate what you do for us Yang, I always have. I may not enjoy the teasing, but I know you're part of what's keeping this team together._ She couldn't bring herself to say that aloud, and rather just focused to keep her focus on the embrace she was giving Yang, not wanting to ruin the moment.

At some unknown time later, Yang could finally feel the heat extinguish from her hair, Weiss taking notice as well. "Thanks for helping me cool down Weiss." Yang hadn't realized it was a pun when she said it, she had meant it to be genuine.

Yang hadn't expected what came next:

A stray chuckle from the heiress.

It took Yang a second to process the sound that came from the uptight white-haired girl's lips. Once she had realized what it was, there was only one word that had been running through her mind, over and over again. A grin slowly re-appeared on her once sad face, but not saying anything to break her contact with Weiss. She wasn't sure why she hadn't wanted to break their hug, but didn't question it.

Slowly breaking from the shared embrace, Weiss and Yang took another look at their scrolls and figured they should pick up the pace, the time already reaching past 3:15 and not having fought a single Grimm. As they went into a slow run continuing their route, that same word still was still going through Yang's mind.

_Success._

**A/N Didn't expect I was talking about Yang before huh? :3**

**I'll be honest I was originally gonna make it about Weiss and being alone, but I figured that was a bit too easy and Yang wouldn't exactly be able to say much, or at least I couldn't do Weiss being lonely and all this without making the chapter like 3 times as long xD. Don't fret, Weiss' loneliness side will come through soon, just not this early on. I will admit though, this was definitely a bit longer then I was expecting originally, I actually managed to write a lot.**

**Anyways I hope you all enjoyed what I wrote for ya here! Make sure to favorite and or follow if you like the story and or want to support me as I keep writing the story, and make sure to Review with any kind of feedback or ideas as the story goes on, any and all criticism is appreciated :)**

**Hope you liked it!  
Andrew (135246)**

Also once again, I do not own or have any part in the organization of RWBY. It is owned and created by our buddies at RoosterTeeth and our lord and savior Monty Oum. I am merely an avid watcher who wishes to write about my thoughts.


	5. Chapter 4: Hit and Run

**A/N READ THIS FIRST BEFORE READING CHAPTER PLEASE**

**There, now that I have your attention I can actually say this:**

**A few people here have mentioned in PM's that the conversations (particularly Yang and Weiss) seemed a little forced and probably wouldn't happen regularly. I mean I know not everyone thinks that way and no one meant any offense by it I'm sure, but I figured I'd at least explain myself to you guys before you read on. This was one of the responses I gave to my friend Blitzkrizer, and I think it sums it up best:**

"_**I know what you mean about the development though. In the end what I was basically trying to do was put each character on an individual level and how they would feel before any interaction before thinking over my process. **_

_**So in this case for example, Weiss is known to get very easily ticked off, which is why as soon as Yang made the comment she had the scowel and her thoughts about Yang's teasing being annoying. That being said, like in the episode where Oobleck convinced Weiss to give Ruby a chance, we can see that Weiss once given (for lack of better word) credible evidence of a situation, is more than willing to try to fix it, even if she won't admit she was wrong. So here when Yang looked so vulnerable and Weiss came to understand why she did what she did, although she would never admit to being wrong, she did try her best to fix what was in front of her. **_

_**Yang on the other hand was slightly trickier, kinda just cause as I said it's how I see a possible scenario of why she acts the way she does. That being said, like in episode 8 where they were gathering the chess pieces, we can see that Yang can very easily break under constant agitation (like Blake pointing out every monster that appears in front of them), which here came from Weiss interrupting her and talking bad about Ruby whom she's very protective of. Although in the show when she had her outburst, there was fighting and Weiss falling out of the sky to more or less distract her and bring her back to the current moment. Especially here, in the case where she burst out of emotion rather than pure annoyance, it's fairly easy to picture her getting caught in an emotional type sadness/rage.**_

_**So yea, it was long and a bit over-thought probably but that's my take on how I wrote it and why I liked it in the end. Thoughts on that?**_**"**

**I pass the same question to you guys, does that seem to make sense to you guys? Idk I just like getting opinions on my work and my thought process, helps me think more and get better.**

**Then again that's what reviews are for (wink wink nudge nudge), that and PM's**

**Anyways enough rambling, enjoy the chapter!**

**EDIT: Sorry, some things didn't transfer in the document like message outlines and whatnot. Should be all fixed now :)**

**For quick reference by the way (really should have done this sooner, my fault) _Italics_ are thoughts, Underline will be written messages, and Bold (can't make that look fancier :p) will be anything by me (usually A/N's or maybe a comment if I need to). Tis all**

As they traveled deeper and deeper into the forest area the area got darker and darker, the trees looking more rugged and dead. The leaves overhead more plentiful in number the sun was further blocked out, only a few beams appearing from above from gaps between various trees. This was more than fine for the faunus, her enhanced vision allowing her to see better in darker areas, and Ruby didn't seem to mind, the light being just enough for her to travel and see any obstacles that were in front of her.

Ruby eventually decided to stop and look around for Grimm, having traveled far enough into the area they were assigned to. She seemed to stop at the perfect place, noticing some Beowolves up ahead. Remembering what Blake had asked her she found three leaves nearby each other and began rustling them against one another, trying to signal Blake when she made her way over there that she had stopped.

Ruby looked back at her scroll and noticed it was a little before 3:00, reaching her usual stopping point early thanks to Blake's speed that allowed her to use her semblance. She decided to message her sister and see how their trip was going.

How goes it for you two so far?

As Ruby sat there waiting for the response and for Blake her mind wandered a bit. She noticed that, being able to have full use of her speed semblance, she managed to cover much more distance thanks to a single use, her speed must have generally increased during the duration of her running, or at least not-decreased through spread-out uses. It was nice having the freedom to travel at her own speed, not restricting herself since Weiss was with Yang for the day.

_Hm, I wonder if Blake used to restrict her strength to hide that she was a Faunus with her speed._ Maybe _she's a better fighter now that she doesn't have to hide her actual ability around us? _

At the mentioning of her name Ruby started thinking back to the moment they had previously, a small smile coming to her face. As was getting lost in thought she didn't notice Blake had finally caught up to her and was next to her looking around the area Ruby stopped.

"Did you manage to see any Grimm around here?"

Again, Ruby let out an audible shriek, surprised once again at Blake next to her. Luckily her shriek wasn't loud enough for much else around them to hear, but both her and Blake nervously checked the area anyway, making sure they were safe. "Sorry about that." A small bit of disappointment was on Blake's facial expression, realizing she had scared Ruby twice now.

Noticing this Ruby decided to give her a reassuring smile. "Its fine, I'm just used to Weiss yelling at me when she sees me rather than sneaking." She saw Blake lighten up a little at the words and felt reassured in what she said. "I can't be mad at you for being good at being all stealthy."

Blake's slightly disheartened expression had turned into a grin at her leader's compliment.

_You just know what to say when I'm upset don't you?_

Blake pushed the thought out of her mind, once again not sure what had made it come up that way in the first place.

"Anyway" Ruby started, "I saw a pack of Beowolves, they're in a clearing up ahead."

_See, my reports aren't wrong all the time Weiss._ Ruby quickly thought in accomplishment.

At the thought of her name Ruby realized that Weiss not being there also meant no real battle plan. Ruby would rarely be able to do what she wanted properly but it was still a plan.

_I wonder if Blake has any ideas…Couldn't hurt to ask I guess._

"Any ideas on how to take em out?" Ruby didn't want to make Blake think she couldn't think of a plan, but also didn't exactly want to seem like she knew exactly what she was doing. That was sort of why she had Weiss.

"Actually yea." Ruby could practically see the gears turning in Blake's head as she started thinking. "I have an idea, it's an old hit and run tactic I used to use in the White Fang when I worked with, Adam…"

Blake hadn't told RWBY much about Adam, other than that they were close and in the White Fang together. That being said it wasn't hard to tell that they had some, 'history'. Blake lost focus at the mentioning of his name, and Ruby saw it immediately.

"Hey!" Ruby half-yelled at Blake. It was just enough to snap her out of it as Ruby continued. "It doesn't matter who he is or what you did. You're not a member anymore, you said yourself. Besides, team FANG doesn't even have a B in it!"

Blake and Ruby both couldn't help but chuckle at the pun.

_Yang rubbed off on her over the years I suppose. _Blake decided.

Ruby finished her point. "You're a member of the best team ever now, team RWBY! That's all that matters."

Blake couldn't help but smile at what Ruby said.

_She…she really doesn't care that I basically used to be a human terrorist. Thank you Ruby…Thank you..._"Thanks Ruby, I think I needed that_."_

Ruby kept her smile going, she never let it down when she was speaking to Blake. "My pleasure, partner."

Blake kept her smile for a while longer, but also knew they had to get to work. "Anyway, to make it simple you go out there and attack the pack more or less as a big distraction. Meanwhile I'll attack from the back and pick off any stragglers that stray away while focused on you. Eventually when they thin out we'll finish them off together."

Ruby didn't show it, but she was a little surprised at first at how simple but clever Blake's plan was. Not only would it effectively defeat the pack, but she also didn't have to worry about running into Blake or ruining it because they would pretty much be fighting separately.

_Yes! I get to run around and do what I want AND be part of a plan! _Ruby was getting happier by the second. _Again, best temporary partner EVER!_

Composing herself, although unable to keep a devilish grin on her face, Ruby put on the most confident tone she could muster trying not to sound childishly excited. "Sounds good. I'll wait here until you reach the other side." She was trying to make sure she sounded like a leader, regardless of her excitement to be able to go nuts…

Blake could tell, but simply nodded and started moving.

_No need to ruin her good mood._

As Ruby saw Blake leave she got a message back from Yang on her scroll.

Nothing major yet here, we'll send a message when we head back

Dismissing the message, Ruby turned back to what was ahead of her, waiting for Blake.

* * *

Ruby waits to see Blake on other side, preparing Crescent Rose in it's sniper form as Blake makes her way to the other end of the clearing through the trees. Ruby can see now that there's a pack of about maybe 30 or so Beowolves, all moving about without any kind of organization whatsoever.

Once she sees Blake across the clearing ready she fires Crescent Rose, killing 2 Beowolves with headshots. As they notice and charge her she unfolds Crescent rose and begins swinging in large arcs, killing a couple more with her scythe and pushing others back in the process.

Meanwhile Blake was already there with Gambol Shroud in double-edged blade form, slashing away at lone Beowolves from behind as they were distracted by Ruby, maintaining her distance and only catching the few stragglers.

Knowing that the plan relied on Blake not being caught Ruby goes into air, spinning and dodging Beowolves as they try to jump up at her to keep as much attention on herself as possible.

While on her descent from her jump Ruby shoots one Beowolf farther on the edge of the pack while spinning her scythe, killing it immediately. After the shot another Beowolf had turned to his dead companion and noticed Blake behind the pack.

She had her sword at her side, deciding to wait behind the fight for the stragglers, but she immediately noticed that the Beowolf saw her and prepared for it to charge. Before doing so it had howled at the rest of the pack to turn around. Noticing that there were two threats the pack began diverting some attention to Blake.

Blake seeing that she was found out separated Gambol Shroud into its dual-sword form and began slashing at the Beolwolves that charged at her, trying her best to hold back the large amount. She decided to make good use of her semblance, placing various afterimages on her left and right sides over the duration, both to keep an eye out for any side strikes and for further intimidation, not looking like one lone target for the pack.

Realizing Blake was in danger Ruby jumped up and fired into the air, using the momentum to go above the dwindling pack and appear next to Blake's side, killing a Beowolf that was about to swipe at her in the process.

The pack having thinned by this point, Ruby and Blake decided to go onto the offensive. Blake put her 1st sword of Gambol Shroud into its handgun form, and began using the recoil of her bullets with the ribbon on her arm to send the blade on the edge of the pistol slashing through the Beowolves as she jumped and spun forward through the bulk of the pack.

Following a similar approach to Blake, Ruby had begun firing Crescent Rose, using the recoil to further her scythe's speed as she spun in a constant circular motion side by side with Blake.

Both had near perfect harmony with each other in the moment, each spin at near same velocity as they each held barely enough distance for their own weapons to avoid collision.

Once they could both see that there was no longer a large pack in front of them, they both stopped their motions to assess their situation. They realized that they had killed near all the Beowolves that were still alive, only a few stray ones running away from their position. Realizing that they couldn't simply let them leave, Ruby began firing at the ones that were farther away with Crescent Rose, while Blake shot the ones closer to their position, recognizing that Ruby's sniper could shoot much farther than her handgun, as accurate as it may be.

* * *

After shooting down the last few stragglers they both took a moment to look at their success. There were plenty of Beowolf corpses on the ground in front of them, plenty with severed heads or body parts from the girls' spinning blades. It was a field full of gore that reeked of chaos, and both Huntresses in training couldn't have been happier at the result.

Ruby was used to Weiss having a set battle strategy that was too hard to follow and remember in the heat of battle, forcing her to usually just kill what was in front of her and do what came naturally. This would be followed by a scowl and fair amount of yelling from her partner for being reckless before she would storm off, leaving Ruby to follow her apologetically.

Blake worked best attacking by surprise, but Yang having to be close range to effectively use her gauntlets Blake didn't want to take the risk of Yang being overrun in a plan like this. She couldn't exactly allow herself to just jump in and start swinging her Kusarigama at the pack in front of her either, worried about hitting Yang should she need to strike with her gauntlets at an enemy.

Both the faunus and the young leader were glad they were able to be reckless on the battle field once more. Proper training and teamwork were great, and they both still showed the results of their training as they fought. That being said, nothing could beat the thrill of letting loose, even if it was for only one day.

Looking back at her scroll Ruby realized that it was still only a little after 3:00, they probably still had plenty of time before they were supposed to meet back up with Yang and Weiss. This being said she decided to break the silence that had come after their fight. "We still have a while before we even need to start heading back."

Blake began to look at her own scroll and realize Ruby was right.

_Wow, if I was with Yang we probably would've started heading back by now. I guess Ruby, and I, are faster than I thought. _

"Well then we might as well use the time we have." Blake looked at her leader with a sense of determination. "Let's take the next half hour or so to look around for any more Grimm. The more we can get rid of the better right?"

Ruby was a little surprised at Blake's new attitude, but took it with gusto, embracing the opportunity to defeat more monsters while they were there. "Cool! So…does that mean I can go back too, you know…"

Ruby desperately wanted to start running again while she still could.

Blake picked up on it almost as soon as she said it. She grinned at how even though she could be virtuous enough to rid the world of evil, she still had the mannerisms of a kid.

"I'm a little more tired after the fight and running after you before,-" Blake saw Ruby's face shift a little, waiting for an answer but starting to show doubt. Blake's grin never left as she knew the face would light back up after she said "-but sure, you can Oof-"

She was interrupted by another tackle/hug from Ruby, only this one was in joy. "THANK YOU THANK YOU Thank You Thank You Thank You!"

Blake's grin only widened at Ruby's hug, taking accomplishment in her leader's regained happiness. _Nice to see you smiling this time Ruby._ Before she even had the chance to say anything Ruby was already off her, and less than a second after that she was running, leaving petals in her wake.

Once she was gone Blake's grin had turned into a full smile, committing the details of Ruby's hug to memory before starting to run after her. That is until she heard a faint noise, even to her enhanced ears, that caused her to slow down enough to try to listen for it.

_Was that…_

_No, it couldn't be._

_Yang's way too far away, I can't imagine her battle screams would reach this far. _Having been her partner for a while Blake had a good idea of how loud Yang was in battle, even when he hair was in danger, but even that wouldn't have reached this distance.

_Plus I'm sure the heiress has got her somewhat under control. Still not exactly sure why Yang chose her over Ruby._

With that thought pushed out of her mind she followed the petal trail to her leader, helping her as they battled stray Grimm with their remaining time together.

**A/N Before you guys start wondering what I meant by the noise if you didn't pick up on it, go back and see the time at which Chapter 3 started around, then read it again :p**

**Anyways I hope you guys enjoyed! Sorry the fighting part of the fight scene wasn't all that great, it was a little harder to write personally. That being said I already started writing out the similar scene for Yang and Weiss, and I will say it's much more detailed on the fight so to speak. That's more or less because I see their fighting style as being somewhat able to think and plan/improvise, where Blake and Ruby share the kind of quick hit and run type fighting style, being able to take out targets quickly and easily.**

**Anyways thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed! I'll try to have chapter 5 out by tomorrow morning seeing that I have a good idea of what I'm writing for it. If it's not up tomorrow morning then it'll have to wait till Sunday probably, cause I have a family event Saturday night.**

**Again hope you guys liked the chapter and please feel free to PM and review for thoughts or just to say hello if ya want :)**

**See ya guys!**

**Andrew (135246)**


	6. Chapter 5: Divide and Conquer

**A/N Hai Guise :3**

**So here's the next chapter in The Black Rose and the White Flame, here with the Freezerburn fight scene!**

**This one's a little more in-depth with fighting and less-so on the emotional stuff, mainly because considering Weiss is more a planning person I should revolve around that.**

**You'll see what I mean ;D**

**Anyways, hope you guys enjoy!**

As the time reached a little past 3:30 Weiss and Yang had stopped, seeing a clearing up ahead with plenty of Ursa. There were 13 in total, with nine minors and four majors eating some of the grass in the surrounding area. There were no trees in the surrounding area so the clearing had no kind of visual hindrances, and there were no rock formations or any kind of obstructions on the field. It was a plainly laid out field, nothing needing to be taken into account minus the Grimm that desecrated the area.

Looking out onto the clearing in the closest tree, Weiss began thinking of a variety of plans to take out the Ursa. Seeing that she was stuck in thought Yang began to do the same.

Usually in these cases Weiss would be the one to think of a plan. Usually with Ruby she basically just had to come up with a plan to do everything herself to account for whatever Ruby may do. She didn't completely discredit Ruby, she knew the young leader could fight and hold her own. That being said she could never follow a plan, so Weiss had to figure out everything for herself.

Yang saw that Weiss was clearly in a lot of thought but figured someone had to say something. "Seeing that you're still staring blankly I'll assume you have some kind of plan already?"

As Yang broke the silence she could see the annoyed scowl forming.

_Ah great, let me hurry before she starts yelling._

"If you wana I have some idea of a plan. It's not much but it's something."

Weiss' annoyed face had acquired some slight surprise at Yang's words.

_Hm, Yang with a plan? Interesting…Maybe this one will actually listen. Looks like she's already more competent then her sister._

Not daring to anger Yang again she decided not to probe the thought.

"Well what did you have in mind?" Weiss calmly asked.

Yang began to explain. "Well it looks to me like the Ursa are separated into three small groups in the clearing, each with three minors and one major, except for the one on the right which seems to have two majors together." Weiss took a look and saw that Yang was actually correct, each 3 minors were gravitating around one or two majors.

_More observant too._

Yang continued. "I say we try to separate the three packs so that we can fight them easier. We should each be able to take one smaller group, and then after we can both take out the last group on the right."

Weiss stared at Yang with a hidden amazement in her gaze at her well thought out plan. _She may act like a barbarian, but it looks like she can actually think about what's in front of her. This could be a good day._ Weiss was slowly beginning to enjoy the idea of having a partner that could think for once.

"That's actually a good idea Yang."

Yang put on a slight nervous grin and held back a slight blush. She couldn't plan out too often with Blake given their lack of utility other than their weapons. But she didn't expect her plan to actually be plausible, let alone Weiss think it was decent.

"Thanks, but how would we do it?"

Remembering that Yang wasn't used to Weiss' arsenal of dust, Weiss begins to explain to her how it would work. "I can make an ice barrier similar to the one we used with the Nevermore to separate the groups, and I can melt part of it with my red dust when we finish." As she thought more, another thing crossed her mind.

"When we go you take the middle area, and on occasion fire onto the right side of Ursa to make sure they don't break the barrier of ice. We don't need this to get out of hand."

Yang nods at the plan, thinking that it made sense and was glad it worked out. "Awesome!" A smile returned to her face as her _other_ wheels began turning.

"You know I'm just glad I'm with you for the day and not Blake. Anything like this with her woulda been a Cat-tastrophe."

Weiss began chuckling again, but tried to mask it with scowl.

_That one wasn't even that good! Why am I still laughing?..._

She pushed the thought out of her head for the moment. "Oh let's just go!"

Yang noticed Weiss' chuckle but didn't say anything, simply grinning remembering her earlier success.

Weiss prepares the teal dust on Myrtenaster to begin their attack on the Ursa in front of them. Weiss sat there patiently, waiting for them to separate more, while Yang simply stood ready to jump into the clearing.

"I'll wait for you to make the barrier before I go in." Yang said still in form ready to go.

_Wow, it's nice to see that she's at least not as impatient as her younger sister either. _Weiss for a moment took refuge in the idea that her new partner might actually follow the plan. She immediately pushed the thought away as she prepared Myrtenaster, seeing that the Ursa had separated far enough.

She fired her first ice line next to the group on the right side. Before the ones on the larger side could react Weiss immediately made another ice barrier between the center and left sides, making three equally sized areas each with a group of Ursa inside.

_Perfect, time to get to punching._ Yang thought with a smirk, ready to get into the fight. "Now!" Yang screamed as she jumps to the center divided area.

Weiss immediately after jumped onto the left most side, preparing for her fight against the agitated Ursa in front of her.

Weiss begins using her rapier training as the Ursa charges at her. Seeing the major farther behind from the minors she made a temporary glyph to push it back and trap one of the minors with it, leaving 2 minors in front of her.

Using this gap change she switch to yellow dust, removing the glyph made previously from her white dust, but using her added agility and general skill with her rapier to kill the two Ursa minors that had charged instantly before the others could get to her.

Yang had taken similar approach, hitting the major with a round from Ember Celica forcing it backwards, and pounding the three minors in front of her into submission with relative ease. She began firing at the major to weaken it, waiting for it to make a last desperate charge at her. When it did, she jumped over it with two rounds pointed downwards from her gauntlets, leaving the major looking up at her.

Before beginning her decent she fired a few stray shots on the right side, keeping the Ursa away from the ice barrier Weiss had made. She also saw Weiss block a hit from the major on her side and pushed backwards. Yang knew she should help, but didn't want to hit the major directly and distract Weiss.

_Distract!_

She fired two more rounds from her gauntlets, each placed behind the last two Ursa on the left side.

After blocking the last hit Weiss was trying to think of a proper way to dispose of the remaining Ursa without taking possible damage.

_Red dust? No, no need to start a possible fire like in Emerald Forest. Teal dust? I think I used it all to make the barriers. Maybe the-_

She was cut off by two rounds from Ember Celica appearing behind the Ursa, each creating a small explosion.

_IS SHE INSANE?_

Weiss looked up at Yang, only to see her point back at the Ursa as she began her decent downwards to her own remaining major.

Weiss then realized the Ursa in front of her had their backs turned to her, distracted form the minor explosions.

_Not bad Xiao Long, not bad at all._

She immediately charged at the remaining Ursa minor, stabbing it in the neck and killing it instantly. She was about to stab the major when it turned its head and ducked before Weiss could land a hit. She had to think of something else and fast.

Yang had just taken care of her last major, landing a nice downward strike from her descent. She noticed Weiss next to the major.

"Need some help over there?" She didn't mean to sound so casual, but also knew that Weiss could easily take care of herself, so wasn't exactly worried.

Admittedly Weiss was a little thrown off by the question. If it were Ruby she probably would've already done something by now that Weiss would have to address after. _It really is nice for someone to follow a plan…_

She couldn't think of that now however as she still had to deal with the major in front of her.

"Just keep the right side contained, I'll be done shortly."

Yang obliged, realizing Weiss already had an idea of what she was doing. Following her wishes Yang continued to shoot past the ice barrier, keeping the larger Ursa group behind it, and in the process actually killing two of the minors as she waited for Weiss.

Weiss in the meanwhile had made distance between her and the major, waiting for it to charge. Once it did, Weiss immediately activated her Blue dust, sending the Ursa skyrocketing upwards, then made one for herself as she jumped up after it and stabbed it clear through the chest, ending its life. She immediately then spun around as to get on top of it, landing on it as she and the corpse fell to the ground.

Finished with her side she used her red dust to melt part of the barrier between the left and middle, moving to get next to Yang so they could tackle the final Ursa group.

Weiss wanted to address the situation before removing the last barrier as Yang continued to fire onto the other side. "What's our status Yang?"

_Our Status? A little professional, but I could get used to it._ Yang thought as she prepared to answer Weiss' question. "I've managed to keep em from breaking the ice more than we did." Yang smirked at her own joke, looking back at Weiss to test her luck. _Hm, no laugh…but no scowl either I suppose. Progress! _

Ignoring Yang's crude pun she tried to devise a plan.

_We can't just take on this many Ursa alone with what we currently have. Yang's ammo is probably low by now and most of my Dust is depleted. I only have enough red dust to burn another path through the ice and a small amount of violet dust (I really should've restocked on dust before coming here…). I do have plenty of white dust though for glyphs…_

A clever idea formed in Weiss' mind.

"Yang, how much ammo do you have left in your gauntlets?

"Four in each." She preceded to fire two more shots at the remaining Ursa behind the barrier, and ended up killing the last minor in the process. "Make that three."

_Hm…that should be enough to kill one of them. _"I have a plan. Just remember, my glyphs may as well be a hard concrete wall that won't break."

Weiss had used the last of her red dust to burn the barrier before Yang could even ask what she meant. The two charged through the opening, ready to attack the huntresses that had ambushed them so effortlessly.

As they made their way over Weiss formed a rather large glyph to separate the two. She called out to Yang "Aim for the target Yang!" Hoping she would catch on.

She had, immediately charging the Ursa as she smashed into it with a jab, sending it flying towards the glyph and smashing into it. Not being able to take much force Weiss couldn't hold it after an impact, but could still make plenty more.

Her next glyph appeared behind Yang. She knew this next part would require some quick and precise motions on her part, and Yang's trust of course.

_Then again, I've done crazier._

She noticed Yang fire two more shots at the 2nd major farther behind, trying to keep it at bay. _Three left._ Both girls thought at the same time.

"Yang, when I say kick your legs, do it!"

Yang was a little baffled until she saw the Glyph appear under her. She kicked off it, realizing where the trajectory was taking her: back to the 1st major she punched last time. She waited for Weiss' signal.

Waited…Waited…

"…NOW!"

A Glyph immediately appeared right behind Yang perpendicular to the ground. She immediately kicked out pushing off the glyph, also using another round to accelerate her further. Then, as soon as the major was in front of her, used another round with her added speed and a flare of her semblance to send it skyrocketing upwards into the distance, not to be seen coming down.

Yang finally slowed down upon impact with the ground, leaving a decent sized skid-mark in the soil below her.

_What do you know? Beat it with one shell to-_

She cut off her thought as she saw the last major charging towards Weiss, who was distracted by Yang's outstanding punch.

She pointed her gauntlet with the last shell at Weiss' feet.

"WEISS JUMP!" She fired her last shell.

If it were Ruby Weiss would've tried to ask her why before doing it. But knowing Yang had trusted Weiss this far to follow her plan, her conscious didn't even question Yang when she screamed.

Weiss immediately jumped up as the Ursa was next to her, and the explosion from Ember Celica was just enough to push the Ursa back and sent Weiss upwards, far away from the beast and with no form of damage whatsoever.

Eventually Weiss landed on her feet, the Ursa temporarily looking at Yang before directing its attention back to Weiss.

_Not bad at all._

Having had enough, Weiss created four small glyphs around the Ursa's arms and legs, similar to her battle with the Giant Armor, locking it in place. Activating the rest of her white dust her sword began to glow, as she immediately lunged at the Ursa. As the sword passed through the beast, nothing was left behind, it having disintegrated upon contact with the blade.

As Weiss took a moment to recover from her final attack, she took a moment to observe the field around her. Yang did the same after noticing Weiss, slightly mesmerized by the view of the disintegrating Ursa that had stood in front of her not too long ago.

The remaining ice had begun to melt, a mixture of regular time and the heat from Ember Celica's shots. The only other thing that remained in the area was black residue from Yang's gauntlets and Weiss' red dust, and the scattered dead Ursa, some stabbed and others simply lifeless with a few dents on their bodies.

Weiss found herself overall pleased with the battle by the end of it. Not only did she not suffer any major injuries from the Ursa, but she also had a plan that was actually followed properly. Plus Yang was a much easier partner then Ruby: she paid attention, followed the plan, and thought on her feet. Plain and simple, she wasn't the child her sister was.

Yang found the battle to be…interesting. Usually when it came to Blake it was about hitting fast and hitting quick, basically just the two of them side by side hitting what was in front of them. With Weiss there was an actual plan, and not only did the plan work but Weiss trusted her to follow it. Plus, that whole pushing off a glyph thing was pretty badass she had to admit.

It was a new experience for them; both having a plan and it being followed properly, and they both knew it probably couldn't have worked with their respective partners. Both couldn't have been happier with the results.

Weiss decided to check her scroll and realized it was already 3:45 by the end of their battle. This being said she decided to break the silence. "Its 3:45 now and we're each out of our respective ammo." _Still can't believe I came here unstocked on ammo._ Weiss mentally scolded herself. "We should probably start heading back now."

Yang checked her scroll as well, realizing Weiss was right and they didn't have much time left anyways, so they might as well head out.  
"I actually still have a reload on me, but that works for me!" She preceeded to reload her gauntlets in front of Weiss, letting the empty shells pop onto the floor as she let the new bullets fall in.  
"I'll use my ammo to take out any strays we catch along the way. I've got you Weiss!"

_She had a reload on her? _Weiss ended up having a slight scowl on her face, not so much for Yang forgetting to mention that she had ammo but rather for thinking she had to protect Weiss. "I can protect myself even without my dust thank you very much Yang." Her scowl was slowly replaced with a smile. "But thanks."

Yang noticed the Heiress' smile and couldn't help but smile back.

_Hm…Weiss doesn't really smile that often around us. It was nice to make her laugh a bit before, but this seems a little more…special?_

Yang wasn't sure what exactly she was feeling seeing Weiss smile, but knew it was positive so didn't exactly think much else of it.

The two turned around and started heading back towards their meeting place with Blake and Ruby. Having some extra time, they decided to go back into their walking pace, not as slow as previously but enough that there was no effort put into it. Both the brawler and the heiress had turned with smiles on their faces.

**A/N That was in total 2,998 words. Don't want to break the 3,000 barrier just yet :p**

**Anyways I hope you guys enjoyed! It was a little weird writing the fight scenes I won't lie, not so much that I couldn't but I feel like there's a lot more to take into account when you do. I tried my best though and I hope it was good for you guys :)**

**Feel free to review if you want to leave a comment, more often than not I comment on reviews in a day or so, same with PM's if you'd rather not review. Also that favorite/follow button could use some love too if you wanted ;D**

**Also don't forget, while I'm able to update fairly frequent now, I can't promise this'll last. Just wanted to put a reminder that's all.**

**Thanks again guys! See Ya**

**Andrew (135246)**

**P.S. WOW 3,000 VIEWS AND 50 FOLLOWERS WOOOOOOOOOO**

**You guys are the best 3**

P.P.S. don't forget, RWBY is not my doing, but rather our lord and savior Mr. Monty Oum who thou art in the land of RoosterTeeth.


	7. Sorry guys, AN Inbound

**A/N Hai Guise :3**

**So…I hate to say this, but this is NOT the next chapter in The Black Rose and the White Flame. This is unfortunately one of those A/N's I said I would do if I couldn't upload…which unfortunately I couldn't. **

**Remember how I said I may not do it as often if things pick up at work? Well…yea, that happened xD, which also means in general uploads will probably be more spread.**

**That being said, it's not like I have nothing, I have an outline for this chapter set and basically just need to actually write it. So don't fret, it won't take long I assure you :)**

**Knowing that though, I'm going away tonight for the 4****th**** and won't be back till late Sunday. Usually if it was regular family trip I would be fine to write at night or something, but actually my girlfriend will be coming with me so I can't promise myself or you guys that I'll actually have time to write/upload on my phone :p  
****With that being said, I PROMISE you guys that I will have something up by Monday night. I'm sure with what time I'll have Sunday when I get home plus when I get home on Monday from work I'll be able to write up this chapter with my outline I have.**

**I assure you, even if it's at 11:59:59:99 (aka to the last millisecond) I WILL UPLOAD THIS CHAPTER**

**Thanks for sticking with me here guys, I really appreciate all of you. For someone who only just started writing you guys sure do know how to make a guy feel good :)  
****I mean it, Almost 50 Favorites and over 60 Follows! I feel like I've read so many other FanFic's over the past two months (when I started looking at this site :p) who deserve this kind of praise, let alone what little I have so far. You guys are awesome, I'm glad to have gotten you all for my 1****st**** fic :D. While I'm at it I thank everyone who's PM'd or Reviewed, you guys are equally if not more awesome and give me more ideas as I try to write this crazy story :p.**

**So before I finish here I have one request for all of you reading here:**

**With my outline I've come up with two different plots to the next chapter, so I wanted to share it with you guys and put it down to a vote. I'll go by PM so that way the review section doesn't get all crowded up with the choices :p. If you don't have an account and just want to post your vote in a review, I won't say you can't but I would prefer a PM vote so that there's less chaos for readers.**

**What was I talking about…oh yea! Next chapter.**

**So basically the two ways I see next chapter going (without giving anything away) is either an…interesting conversation based off what just went down. Or another cool fight scene with all four of them against…something (can't spoil it :p).  
****Just a note if the fight scene happens I'm sure the conversation will still happen, it'll probably either just happen next chapter or just be shortened in the same chapter.  
****So I mean if y'all like my fight scenes, then I'm more then willing to write it :)**

**Welp, that's it guys. Thanks for reading this announcement, and I'm sorry again for not being able to upload. But don't worry, by Monday at 11:59:59:99PM there WILL be a chapter guys. **

**TL DR****: Couldn't upload because work picked up and I'm going away this weekend so I can't write, but I promise I'll upload before Tuesday.  
****Also love you all, almost at 50 favorites and couldn't be happier :D  
****There's a vote for next chapter, fight scene or no fight scene, PM with your vote!**

**See ya!**

**Warm Regards,**

**Andrew (135246)**


	8. Chapter 6: Protective Instincts

**A/N Hai Guise :3**

**So the vote came in, it wasn't all that big of one, but the vote was ever so slightly in favor of the conversation route. Surprisingly it was actually by a single vote, so it seems like one vote really CAN make a difference :p.**

**Before this starts, I need you guys to do me a big favor as an awesome audience.  
****My good friend Goodnames-alltaken has this awesome story called A Fool's Dream. It starts as White Rose but goes into an amazing OC, and it's the story that inspired me to come write here on FanFiction. It just came to my attention upon looking that I'm actually nearing his number of favorites and follows, even though he has over 300k words and 57 chapters. Now while I'm extremely flattered at that and think you guys are awesome for it, I think he needs a little love.  
****So please, for meh, go check it out :)**

**Anyways, thanks for sticking with me and waiting for this lengthy update, hopefully you'll appreciate the incoming feels.**

**Update: Bored at work and managed to find a couple of small grammar errors :p**

The base of the sun was only centimeters away from the horizon ahead, being just enough in presence to still not be able to look at it head on without some form of eye wear. The trees in the distance managed to provide minor protection from the sun, leaving patches of shade along the area. The generality of the area enveloping our four huntresses had a much different feel around it now, as if the destruction of the inhabiting Grimm had left a more peaceful clearing. Not permanently, for the creatures of Grimm could surely return, but peaceful nonetheless.

Having seemingly completed their task at hand before the Red and Black duo, Yang and Weiss had made their way to the same fork in the road where Ruby had given her initial briefing. They had been waiting there for about 5 minutes, the clock getting dangerously close to the meet-up time of 4:30.

Yang was getting worried, more for her sister then Blake simply out of habit, caring to make sure her baby sister was not in harm's way. She obviously cared for Blake being her partner, but she's always protected Ruby since she met her. "Where the hell are they?..." she muttered under her breath.

Being a slight disturbance in the dead silence, Weiss had heard it directly. She figured Yang was worried for the duo, and after their chat felt warmed by her compassion. She grew the slightest grin, not even visible to the naked eye. She did begin to share Yang's concern however.

As the clock struck 4:29 Yang had had it. "We need to go find them. You and Ruby were always early, I can't imagine why she's late this time around." Weiss wanted to tell Yang that it was mainly in part to her, but didn't see the need to argue and was about to get ready to move.

That is until Ruby was seen in the distance by Weiss, coincidentally behind Yang. Weiss could see the small gust of petals behind Ruby, realizing that she must have used her semblance to get back. She gestured Yang to turn around to see her sister, at which point Yang's face beamed with joy.

_She's probably been using her semblance all day..._Weiss slowly thought. _Damnit Ruby, Blake probably couldn't follow you and is too far behind by now you dolt! _

Yang called out to her, happy to see her sister safe and out of harm as Ruby waved back from afar. Weiss, not seeing Blake, was about to suggest to Yang that they go and search for Blake. Having been Ruby's partner she realized (or so she thought) how fast Ruby could be when Ruby was using her semblance to get by. She couldn't possibly imagine how tired Blake must be tying to follow her trail, and so figured they would have to go find her.

That is until five seconds later when Blake appeared behind Ruby emerging from the trees. In the distance Ruby had nodded to Blake as the two begin idly chatting as they walked closer.

_How was Blake so close to where Ruby was? She's not that fast as far as I know. _Weiss figured that Ruby must have tried slowing down her semblance for Blake. _If she's that close Ruby must have slowed down or stopped for her or something. Blake's not that fast. But since when was the dunce able to show self-control? Interesting._

Weiss' thought was interrupted as Ruby and Blake got closer. Once they had arrived Yang had enveloped Ruby into a classic bear hug, crushing her in the process. As Yang had a happy grin on her face, Ruby's was one of utter pain, wanting her sister to let go before she died.  
Weiss and Blake couldn't help but giggle at the sisters embrace.

_That's so cute. _They both simultaneously thought: Blake laughing at Ruby's childish antics, and Weiss at Yang's affection.

Once being released from her death-grip, team RWBY began to walk back to Beacon to give their report on the Grimm they killed.  
_Might as well start the conversation _Ruby thought.  
"So everyone, how went the monthly hunt?"

For some reason Weiss felt compelled to ask about Ruby's semblance first. "First of all, why did you come out of that forest using your semblance? Blake probably couldn't keep up with you all day!" She wasn't even so much worried for Blake's well-being, she more or less just didn't like that Ruby was being reckless.

Blake at this point shifted from being on Ruby's right side on the end to her left, going directly between her and Weiss. After their conversation in the forest she couldn't help but feel more protective of Ruby around the princess, it was in her more animalistic nature. "It wasn't even any trouble for me Weiss. In fact, Ruby didn't even have to s-"

Ruby had covered Blake's mouth and began to fake laugh, realizing what Blake was about to say. "I don't want her to know about my stopping, remember?" She began to whisper to Blake. "Pleaseeeeeeeeee don't say anything."

Blake would've loved to humiliate Weiss right then and there, put her in her place for all the times she's upset Ruby and the rest of the team. That being said, it didn't want to risk doing so at Ruby's expense, so she decided to simply nod her head at Ruby and lay off. Ruby grinned mouthing 'Thank You', causing Blake to grin as well.

Ruby began telling Weiss and Yang about the fight: the way Blake's plan worked, their spinning nature, and how they ran around after defeating strays, hence the lateness. In the process they brought up Blake's speed enhancements, getting a confused understanding from Weiss and a crude pun about the "kitty finally using all fours" from Yang.

After they finished, Yang and Weiss began talk about their fight: Their organized plan to separate the Ursa, the way Yang listened and still managed to improvise, and how they took down the majors with Weiss' glyph trick and her finishing move. They also mentioned leaving early due to Weiss' lack of dust, hence being early.

"Wow, you of all people being low on ammo Weiss? The one day you're not with me and you're the 'incompetent dolt'." Said Ruby as she began to giggle.

Weiss' scowl was also accompanied by a slight redness to her cheeks, clearly embarrassed that she had been caught improperly equipped for the trip.

Blake slightly grinned after hearing Ruby make her comment to Weiss. At least even if she wasn't the nicest person to Ruby, Ruby wasn't afraid to throw a few minor jabs back at her.

Seeing Weiss being uncomfortable Yang figured there was no real reason to press the issue. She knew Weiss was embarrassed for her lack of ammo from the walk home: she seemed slightly more frightened at her surroundings as they continued past. No one could have noticed if they didn't know Weiss, her only tell being a solid grip on Myrtenaster the whole walk home, even waiting at the rendezvous point until she was with the rest of her team.

Knowing this, Yang tried to get off the subject of Weiss. "Well either way I was worried about you Rubes, you're usually here really early."

Ruby could tell that Yang was just trying to change the subject, and gladly obliged. "Well I'm fine aren't I?" She said in a near-joking tone. "No need to worry about me anymore sis, I can hold my own."

Weiss' scowl was still present on her face at this point. "Well she's always had to worry about you dolt, why would she stop now? Not like you've grown up all that much anyways." Her tone had a bit of harshness in her voice, but nothing over the top.

Blake sensed it however, and began to feel protective again. However, realizing it wasn't exactly hostile, she decided to leave it be for now.

Yang "Yep, never stopping that." Her smile grew into a devilish smirk. "Then who would I do this to every day?" She immediately drew Ruby into a slightly less crushing bear hug once more.

Ruby was immediately feeling constricted, and more as a reactionary response lightly pushed Yang off of her, sending her stumbling backwards slightly.  
"Why'd you do that Yang? You scared me!"

Weiss managed to catch Yang to make sure she didn't fall, hoisting her back up and then immediately turning her attention to Ruby. Ruby's face was one of anger mixed with shock, obviously not having expected Yang to do that. "What's your problem dolt?" Weiss began, her anger having grown from watching Ruby push Yang. "She only wanted to give you a hug to show you she cared!"

Blake's anger had come back immediately, appearing suddenly behind Ruby and putting her hands on both of her shoulders in a protective stance. "Don't yell at her Weiss! She didn't mean it and you know it!" Blake's voice was slowly rising at Weiss, but she wasn't sure if it was her typical anger at her, or rather remembering her conversation with Ruby and not wanting her to feel threatened.  
She didn't' exactly care at this moment however.

Weiss was a little caught off guard with Blake defending Ruby so suddenly, but maintained the same anger level. "It's not my fault she's so reckless! And why are you suddenly so defensive of her?" Weiss questioned.

Realizing things were heading in a bad direction, Yang figured she should defuse the situation while it was still possible. She walked behind Weiss and put a hand on her shoulder. "Relax Weiss," she said in a soft but firm tone, "I'm fine, no need to get upset."

Weiss could feel her anger quell slightly, enjoying Yang's words and her touch to calm her down.

Ruby on the other hand was a little surprised by Weiss' reaction to Yang's words. "Wait, why is she so calm around you now Yang?"

Yang looked at her sister, not wanting to get into it. "Ruby just stay out of it for now, it's not something that you need to know." Her anger was slight, but beginning to build.

Ruby was not satisfied with her answer. "I'm the leader here so I should know if something's wrong with my team Yang." Her voice was rising slowly, although she wanted to speak in a more caring manner. "Whether or not it's my business I need to know. So just tell me what's going on!"  
She wasn't sure what made her yell like that, but it felt good to let out.

Weiss had lost it, Yang's touch had helped for the time, but hearing Ruby yell at Yang for a second time was too much for her.  
_Goddamnit Ruby!_ Her thoughts began to cloud a bit with rage as she lost her cool.  
"How Dare you yell at her like that! She's only trying to protect you and keep you safe, and all you're doing is yelling at her! Is that how you treat your sister!?"

Ruby was completely caught off guard by Weiss' outburst. She wasn't sure if it was because it was Weiss saying the words, or the fact that her words sounded so true and sincere.  
_Is that…is that true? _The words slowly sank in, and Ruby was beginning to think Weiss could have been right. _Am…am I…a bad sister?_ Ruby could feel her facial expression drop, and tears slowly begin to gather beneath her eyelids.

Blake's face had gone to one of surprise seeing Weiss outburst on behalf of Yang. However immediately upon seeing Ruby's facial expression change, the anger was back almost immediately, and aimed back at Weiss who was still looking at Ruby. "Hey Ice Queen!" Weiss' angry scowl turned back to Blake. "Leave Ruby alone right now or so help me –" as she placed her left hand on Gambol Shroud while in its holster "- you'll be tied up and missing somewhere in the clearing."

Ruby saw that Weiss and Blake were about to kill each other worse than any of the Grimm could have. If this didn't stop, things could get really bad, really quick. She tried to compose herself and recollect her team. "Guys let's just stop, this isn't helping anything!"

…_3…_

Weiss' glare had moved from Blake to Ruby, not wanting to hear her involvement anymore in this argument that _she clearly started!_

"Well neither are you Ruby! Can't you see that Yang's done enough for you?"

…_2…_

Blake moved herself back in front of Ruby, both to protect her from Weiss as well as make sure to have a direct view of the heiress. "Well Ruby's done more than enough for YOU Princess!"

…_1._

Yang had stood by and waited long enough. As soon as Blake finished that sentence, Yang had immediately flared her semblance, causing a formidably sized heat wave to pass over the three girls, breaking their death-staring contest with each other. Her eyes were a deep crimson red as she focused her gaze onto them, trying to convey her anger as much as she could in her stare alone.

All three girls had finally looked at Yang, and also took a moment to think about what they just did. All three girls were terrified, knowing very well what Yang could do when she was as pissed off as she looked now.

Slowly but surely after about 15 seconds Yang's eyes slowly returned to their regular color, but her hair still remained ablaze. Blake and Ruby had begun to relax, realizing that Yang wasn't angry anymore. Weiss on the other hand:  
_Oh no…I know that look…Yang…_

At this point Yang's anger had subsided, but knew what was coming. With that in mind she turned around and started walking aimlessly back towards the forest area of the clearing.

Ruby immediately began taking a step forward to go talk to Yang, but she was stopped be Weiss' hand in front of her face. At this point Blake's overall surprise at the situation had overrun her protective instincts, so she could not completely fathom what Weiss was to say next.

"Stay here Ruby. I know what to do."

There was no anger in Weiss' voice, no emotion even. It sounded as if she was a robot, simply giving commands.

Ruby and Blake were already thrown off by the entirety of what just happened, but that had just thrown them off more. Both couldn't begin to think of what Weiss, of all people, could say to Yang.

Yang was as she was the last time this had occurred earlier: crying, upset, and not sure what to do. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and she looked up and saw Weiss staring into her eyes. Yang found herself getting lost in the deep blue orbs that stared right back at her; lost in their color; lost in their velour; lost in the raw emotion that hid behind them.

"Yang…" Weiss' voice caught as she began to speak, trying to hold back the sadness building to be strong for Yang. "I'm sorry, for more things than one that I said before." She felt tears building, but pushed them away knowing she had to keep calm for Yang's sake. "I went out of line when I thought Ruby wasn't treating you well, and I shouldn't have snapped. When you told me before you still see me and Blake as family, well…I got protective. I guess I know how you are with the dolt now."

Yang's gaze was faltered a bit at the thought of Ruby  
_Ruby…oh gods what did I say to her?_

Weiss saw Yang's gaze shift at the mentioning of Ruby, and immediately brought Yang into an embrace, the heat on Yang's hair still blazing as Weiss tried to calm her down. This time she slowly began rubbing her hand along Yang's back, trying to cool off her semblance. "Shhhh, it's ok. It's ok." She could slowly feel Yang's fire die down as she began to return the embrace and small sniffles could be heard from the brawler.

Ruby and Blake watched from a distance as Weiss began to embrace Yang, and slowly but surely saw the flames on Yang's head go out in the process.

In the meanwhile Ruby slowly grew fear at what was happening in front of her, worrying that she had seriously lost her older sister. Not to mention, as much as she didn't want to admit it to herself, that she was upset that Weiss was the one to comfort her. Blake was her partner and Ruby was her sister, those were understandable, but Weiss? She wasn't even nice to any of them, let alone to Yang.

Blake began to see the fear in Ruby's eyes at the sight. She wasn't exactly sure why she was so upset, but didn't give it a second thought as she bent down and gave Ruby a hug in an effort to help her relax, allowing Ruby to rest her head on Blake's shoulder.  
"I'm sorry that I did that Ruby, I shouldn't have let it escalate that quickly. It's just that as soon as Weiss started attacking you, I couldn't help but make sure you were safe. I don't want her to hurt you anymore." Soon enough Ruby's tears began to slowly flow down her face, small sniffles escaping her voice as well. Blake didn't dare move from Ruby's side, letting her take shelter in Blake's arms.

A minute later Yang and Weiss were back with Ruby and Blake, and Ruby immediately left Blake and latched onto her sister. Yang was quick to return Ruby's hug, each of them wanting nothing more than to fix what happened.

"I'm so sorry Yang! I'm so sorry!" Ruby began.

"It's not your fault Ruby, it's ok, it's ok." Similar to Weiss Yang began to rub Ruby's back with her hand, however unlike Weiss she wasn't quite as contained, letting some tears escape as she tried to calm her sister.

Looking at the two crying sisters in front of them, Blake and Weiss began to look at one another with a look of sadness. Both knew they were just trying to protect the sisters, and both knew they went overboard. In seeing both of the people they wanted to protect so vulnerable, they each decided to do the only thing they felt could help.

Blake went behind Ruby and wrapped her arms around her, as Weiss did the same to Yang. That being said, both of them actively made sure to have no contact come between the two of them, only amongst the sisters.

In the moment, both the Faunus and the Heiress had the exact same thought.

_I am here for you. I will comfort you. I will protect you._

**A/N Man…lotta feels going on there if I do say so myself.**

**So I did it, and with over 3 hours to spare before 11:59:59:99PM :3**

**Please make sure to PM and Review! I can't know if I did a good/bad job if no one tells me :p  
****I'll admit I know this chapter could've been probably a little better (especially that last sentence, that one I can admit is a little strong but it just seemed to fit), but all in all I think it went well. In case you guys haven't noticed these chapters are going basically going for a protective type of relationship to start between the duos, which has been achieved here. With this start I figured each will be more tempted to spend time with the other, and then the relationships could actually grow. The next chapter after this will give sort of a layout for what each is thinking at this point, and from there the relationships shall grow.**

**So bare with me just a little longer :)**

**Thanks for reading guys! Hope you enjoyed!**

**Andrew (135246)**


	9. Chapter 7: Silent Normalcy

**A/N Hai Guise :3 **

**So here we are, good ol' chapter lucky number 7. No idea why I said it like that but I already typed it so I'm too lazy to change it :p**

**Before I start, It's kinda important to remember that all of the events of the prologue/6 chapters all happened in one day, so there's a lot to think about for everyone. My original thought was going to be another conversation only more tamed, but then I kinda realized that it would most likely get way too hectic again, both to write and for the characters (Don't need Yang to burst 3 times in one day xD). So with that in mind I figured it would be best for each character to just have their own kind of reflection on what happened. This will be next chapter (I'M REALLY SORRY [read bottom A/N])**

** If you have any suggestions or ideas on whatcha read or just want to say hello feel free to Review or PM me, I'm always up for some criticism and friends :)**

**Ok the rambling is over, COMMENCE CHAPTER**

**P.S. for beacon dorms I'm assuming like college suite style dorm: Sleeping area the way we've seen it on the show, common area (couch and tv, something like that), and Bathroom.**

**Just cause that'll be a little important later.**

It was almost another 5 minutes before team RWBY had composed themselves enough to report that they were returning and begin their trip back to Beacon. Their trip still composed of taking the five mile hike to get back to Vale, let alone the rest of the time it would take to get back to Beacon. In any other circumstance they probably would have made haste to get back, but considering what had just occurred they all had an unspoken agreement that they were in no rush.

Each with a subconscious desire to create distance between certain others, some more than others, Ruby and Blake walked together on the right side of the road, with Weiss and Yang not all that far away from them, but with enough distance to make a point of not being close. To even further emphasize this, Blake was on the right outer side, making a point to stay close to Ruby. Weiss had done the same to Yang only being on the left outer side.

To say that the air was tense would be an understatement. After the rather intense conversation that had just transpired between the team, no one exactly seemed in the mood to talk. Not even Ruby was able to hold her usual cheery attitude, rather just walking in straight silence with Blake next to her.

Eventually they managed to make it back to Beacon, the sun beginning to hit the horizon as they could tell the day would soon be turning into the night. After quickly moving to their rooms in order to deposit their equipment team RWBY decided to go to the school Cafeteria to eat their dinner. After grabbing their meals they took their seats next to team JNPR, who it seemed were talking about their own outings.

_Normalcy, please save me right now. _Ruby thought to herself. She couldn't think of a good way to talk between her and the team considering what happened as they were leaving their area of Grimm, so she was trying to think of a way to start talking again. JNPR gave that to her.

"Hey guys!" Ruby exclaimed, putting in a little extra excitement trying to mask her slight discomfort from earlier.

Each of JNPR saw RWBY approaching, and each of them gave a reassuring wave, with the exception of Ren who simply nodded his head. Nora had waved quick but immediately put her head back, continuing her story to the rest of the team, RWBY listening in as she continued.

"...We had been traveling for almost another 45 minutes after the first fight!" She began

Juane interjected, "N-No! It was only another like 5 minutes after the first one."

"Then we saw over 50 beowolves and at least 20 ursas battling it out all at once!"

"Nora, there were only like 5 beowolves and two Ursa on seperate sides of the clearing alone."

_So this is what Ren feels like..._

"So me and Juane jumped right in. After firing grenades at each killing almost half the beowolves, I took on the rest of them and smashed their heads into mush, while Juane held off all the Ursa until I could come help!"

Everyone stared at Juane waiting for the rebuddle. "That part was actually right. Other then the numbers I mean." He said with a surprised look on his face.

"After I killed the beowolves, five ursa came running at me all at once so I had to keep them off me!"

The story continued like that for a while, Juane all the while having a more and more exausted look on his face trying to fix what Nora said.

_Man Ren deserves credit for dealing with this..._He slowly thought. It was true, there was no more daunting task then correcting the Valkyrie, and everyone I'm sure agreed in their heads.

"That sounds...exciting, Nora." Pyrrha calmly said, with a smile on her face nonetheless at Nora's antics. "Mine and Ren's went a little...smoother I'd say. We ended up finding a large pack of Beowolves, about twenty or so, we simply used the element of surprise to our advantage."

Ren decided to chime in realizing that they began talking about his and Pyrrha's fight. "It really was clever of you Pyrrha." Pyrrha's smile widened slightly at the praise. "Basically she went out and made them pay attention to her so that I was free to go from behind and take them out one by one." His stoic expression didn't leave his face the entire time, even though Nora, knowing him inside and out, could tell he was plenty excited the plan had gone well.

Ruby's face brightened a bit at realizing how similar their plans were. She nudged Blake to emphasize this and said, "Just like us Blake!" Blake grew a small grin and seeing Ruby with a smile again, knowing she was still down not too long ago.

"What do you mean Ruby?" Nora began to question, walking up to Ruby and nearly putting her face directly in front of Ruby's.

_Too Close, Too Close! _Ruby's face showed her obvious objection to Nora's closeness.

"Nora." That one word from Ren and Nora backed off.

_How close could they be? _Ruby slowly thought, surprised how easily she listened to him.

After Nora clearly established her personal space Ruby began to tell her story with Blake about their outing, how they managed to kill the pack slightly bigger than Pyrrha and Ren's using similar tactics

with their end spin technique. Afterwards Yang and Weiss went into their battle with the Ursa, how they separated each group and the way in the end Weiss used her glyphs to help propel Yang. All the while JNPR's expressions were mostly the same:

Juane and Pyrrha looked on with a more positive look, impressed with the team's adaptations and feats.

Ren was mostly stoic with an occasional grin at a good feat.

Nora in the meanwhile was bouncing and giving plenty of "Ooooh" and "Aaahhhhh"'s, and another personal space issue with Yang. Luckily Ren managed to stop her before things got...iffy.

After they finished their meals and cleaned up, both RWBY and JNPR had decided their days had come to an end, and retired to their rooms. There was small idle conversation along the way back, mainly about what the group were planning to do over the next two days. The monthly hunts were always on Fridays so they would have the weekends to rest, the teachers not giving Homework for any of their classes.

Juane and Pyrrha were planning to complete some more training to keep themselves on Par, while Ren and Nora were planning to take a trip into Vale to stock up on groceries. Or so they said groceries, even though JNPR knew Nora was just gonna buy sweets and pancake mix for Ren to make.

Before RWBY could discus their plans the teams made it to their respective dorms, waving goodbye as they walked inside.

Usually team RWBY would be talking about something: the hunt, their weapon conditions, the weather even. Today: silence. No one seemed really in the talkative mood, and it was evident the second they were alone in the room.

Ruby being the last one in the room and sensing this, sighed aloud realizing that normalcy wasn't exactly achieved.

_So much for going back to normal huh? _Her usual grin had died down, realizing that what happened must have taken a bigger toll on the team then she thought. _Maybe I should just wait for now, I'm sure by tomorrow everything will be ok. _Ruby always was more of an optimist, and was simply hoping her team would be able to patch things up again. This didn't seem as bad as two months ago with Torchwick and finding out Blake was a faunus, seeing that they had all come to terms with that. With that in mind, Ruby searched for something to do.

Eventually everyone seemed to find something to do for the night:

Ruby decided to clean and perform maintenance on Crescent Rose in the common room, she didn't want her sweetheart getting rusty. The team used to be a little uncomfortable with Ruby cleaning her weapon in the room, but being Ruby and having her slight weapon obsession, everyone kinda just stopped caring.

Weiss decided to take a shower, simply because she felt disgusting after the long day they all had. Everyone else wasn't all that worn out from their battles, minus Yang, so Weiss had the bathroom all to herself for the moment.

Blake decided to do the one thing she could do anytime of day no matter what the circumstance: read. She had "Ninjas of Love" ready to go, of course masked by "Faunus DiscrimiNATION", avoiding anyone finding out what she's actually reading.

Yang on the other hand immediately changed her clothes and went to sleep. She was extremely tired from the day she had, and from the moment she went into the room all she wanted to do was sleep it all off, so she intended to do just that.

The silence was evident minus the sound of Weiss' shower. The slightest sound would break it, even Blake turning the page of her book as she read. This gave everyone the ideal opportunity to think and reflect on what happened over the course of their day.

**A/N I know you all think I'm horrible but HEAR ME OUT **

**This chapter is mainly up because I felt bad I couldn't post earlier. It's a busy weekend for me this time 'round and currently I'm not in an able enough position to write out everything that I wanted too, and I felt like you guys deserved better than another A/N chapter considering I had this much written already. So I figured I would post this and at least give you guys something to see for now :). **

** CHAPTER 8 WILL BE UP BY TUESDAY NIGHT I PROMISE!**

**At the very least you guys are plenty set up for the next chapter. It's literally going to be each character's thoughts over what happened on that day one by one, which will in all honesty just be another set-up for the rest of the story. I assure you my fine audience, after the next chapter the real fun will start ;D.**

**Anyways thank you all so much for dealing with me in my busy times and showing your support! I love you all and will be back soon with the next chapter :)**

** Andrew (135246)**

**PS sorry if this looks weird, had to use copy paste cause I'm actually on my phone on the train, hence the busy weekend :p**


	10. AN Apology Update: Bad Luck

**Last Week:**

_**Hai Guise :3  
***Dodges Rock aimed for head*_

_**Ok, I deserved that I suppose. While I'm here I also apologize for this only being an A/N, I'll explain why I didn't upload "yesterday" in just a second :p**_

_*Dodges another rock, this time aimed for...somewhere more harmful to a male*_

_**OK OK I'M SORRY JUST STOP THROWING ROCKS FOR 2 MINUTES SO I CAN EXPLAIN MYSELF PLEASE?**_

_*...lack of rocks*_

_**Cool thanks :)**_  
_**So basically I had the start of chapter 8, somewhere around half way typed and ready to go, and I had it on my phone (which was a new iPhone 5s). So eventually I used the backup of my old iPhone because I wanted all my old stuff. But in the process I didn't know it would delete everything that was already on my phone, including pictures, texts, and...you guessed it...notes.**_  
_**So basically I didn't write anything for a few days out of pure spite, however after those few days work picked up and some other shiat happened that took my attention, and since I was already off track with this I never really got back on :(**_

_**So let me at least fill you guys in on my new current situation:**_

_**Work is over, but has been replaced with college and 16 credits of work...yay...**_  
_**I'm currently in the same 5 minute general area as my girlfriend now (we met at school), so I'll be seeing her a lot more**_  
_**I am part of a marching band nearby me, so a few weekends will be jam packed with work and stuff, especially if I have to make up time for whatever events may occur from such.**_

_**Now with all that being said, I am a hugeeeeee procrastinator when it comes to work, and so when I'm studying or even on occasion in class I may need something to occupy my time (wink wink nudge nudge ;p), so I'm sure I can still find time to keep writing, because I do definitely want to continue this story where I left it off :)  
However I don't want to leave you guys hanging like I did this time around, I really do feel bad :(. So I will make this statement now to cover my tracks as much as possible: I'm upping my weekly upload policy to a week and a half (10 days from upload day), just cause now that I'm at school it's really easy for something to come up at a moments notice and take up my time, so no need to make an excess amount of Chapter A/N's just cause I'm busy you know?  
Let me re-iterate for those who may not be reading completely:  
THE NEW MAX TIME PER CHAPTER/A/N IS A WEEK AND A HALF CAUSE SCHOOL/BUSYNESS**_

_**At the very least where I did take my accidental Hiatus at least it was a point where I can make a prologue type thing for what's to come. Now just for your informations, at the moment I have no intention of incorporating season 2 into the story, mainly because I need to think of a way to figure out how to incorporate xyz elements from such until I get back on track.**_  
_**So for those who are just skimming let me repeat:**_  
_**THIS STORY FOR THE TIME WILL NOT BE IN LINE WITH SEASON 2**_  
_**Kay?**_  
_**Kay.**_

_**Last thing to say: thank you all, so, so much for being here while I was gone. And with that a special thanks for those who have favorited/followed/reviewed over the past couple of weeks or so (y'all know who you are :) ), you were kinda that kick in the ass to remind me that I have a bit more time now to use for you guys :)**_

_**So with that I'll be gone, expect a new chapter sometime between now and I'll say Tuesday night considering there's band stuff all day Saturday almost so I'll be busy with such.**_  
_**Again, let me repeat that.**_  
_**NEW CHAPTER WILL BE HERE SOMETIME BETWEEN NOW AND TUESDAY NIGHT.**_

_**Thanks again guys, I love you, and hopefully I'll have no more unnecessary leaves of absence :)**_  
_**Happy "Tuesday"**_

_**Hahaha, ha...ha...get it?**_

_**...guys?**_

_*doesn't see rock and it hits shoulder*_

_**I THOUGHT WE WERE DONE WITH THAT DOE?**_

_*Looks in the distance...slowly starts backing away...*_

_**Well...uh...BYEGUISESORRYILOVEYOUDON'TKILLMEPRETTYPLEASE...**_

_*begins running from cloud size/formation of rocks*_

* * *

**...Guys, I think I just have bad luck, honestly.**

**No rocks this time, I'm kinda just sad, both at myself and what happened (explination for why I haven't uploaded)**

**I'll be simple here guys, it happened again. We were on a bus on our way to a band event, and I had almost all of 8 typed up. It was a jeans and shirt (we have a specific tee we're given for casual events), and so my phone was in my front pocket like it always was. It was like two hours or so before we were done, and I was planning to finish the chapter on the ride home.**

**And guess what happened.**

**There's no easy way to say this, and it's not exactly believable but...I sweat so hard my phone died.  
Not even Joking.  
The moisture actually got caught in my phone case, ended up going through whatever open parts it has, and then it wouldn't turn back on after the event. So, again, the nearly finished chapter was lost form my grasp...again.**

**So yea, thanks to school work and being social and stuff I haven't been able to quite finish this, but don't worry guys I learned my lesson: No more portable writing (or at least not on something that can fit in my pocket, seeing that I use a laptop :p)**

Guys, I am so, so sorry for making you wait this long, this will be the second time that I've went back on my promise to you guys and I don't want to do that :(  
Granted it was something out of my control but I still feel bad :(  
So I'll just try to fix it by making sure to upload on time from now on :)

So my date for this will be Monday: just because this weekend is more band and a Baseball game (I got tickets for me and my gf, really nice ones too :) )

Thanks for sticking with me and I'll try my best to make sure not to sweat around my laptop, should that one bead of sweat go through my keyboard and to my power supply...  
I really shouldn't have said that...if it happens I just give up at life :p

Warm regards,  
Andrew (135246)


	11. Chapter 8: Reflections

**A/N Hai Guise :3**

**So yea...it's definitely past Tuesday I know :p**

**Ducks as Rock gets thrown at him**

**OKAY OKAY I'M SORRY**

**Sorry for letting y'all down, the main reason I didn't upload so long ago is because my iPhone backed up to an old version when I plugged it in for the 1st time the Tuesday night I was gonna upload (I had gotten it recently, never restored my old backup) and so my old notes were deleted and replaced...yay...no idea why, and it had the chapter on it :/**  
**So I was too pissed to write that night and the rest of the days after were a mixture of business and procrastination, hence why I said Tuesday in the first place because I knew I'd be busy in the time after, and eventually when I started up my fall semester of college everything got too out of hand with some major girlfriend issues (we're still together to report) and just general school stuff. Unfortunately this carried over into the winter break and then this semester, oddly enough another fight with her leading me to want to write again :p. I'll talk more about this in the post-chapter A/N, I know right now you guys just want to read whats next so I'll talk about what's in the future for BRWF in that time as well since I don't want to leave you waiting.**

**But hey at least it's up now so yay!...right?**

**Dodges another Rock**

**Sorry again, enjoy!**

**Runs to find cover**

**P.S. (Yelled from behind cover) Don't forget my notice about this still being T! I only say so because as said from my last section Weiss goes to take a shower, so…yea…nothing all that graphic there so don't depend on it ya dirty peoples ;P  
**

* * *

_"Eventually everyone seemed to find something to do for the night:_

_Ruby decided to clean and perform maintenance on Crescent Rose in the common room, she didn't want her sweetheart getting rusty. The team used to be a little uncomfortable with Ruby cleaning her weapon in the room, but being Ruby and having her slight weapon obsession, everyone kinda just stopped caring._

_Weiss decided to take a shower, simply because she felt disgusting after the long day they all had. Everyone else wasn't all that worn out from their battles, minus Yang, so Weiss had the bathroom all to herself for the moment._

_Blake decided to do the one thing she could do anytime of day no matter what the circumstance: read. She had "Ninjas of Love" ready to go, of course masked by "Faunus DiscrimiNATION", avoiding anyone finding out what she's actually reading._

_Yang on the other hand immediately changed her clothes and went to sleep. She was extremely tired from the day she had, and from the moment she went into the room all she wanted to do was sleep it all off, so she intended to do just that._

_The silence was evident minus the sound of Weiss' shower. The slightest sound would break it, even Blake turning the page of her book as she read. This gave everyone the ideal opportunity to think and reflect on what happened over the course of their day."_

* * *

_**Yang  
**_  
_I...am...tired...Today was a long ass day._  
The day had obviously taken its toll on Yang, she was anything if not "alive" at the moment, and wanted nothing more than to let sleep overtake her. If not for the thoughts running through her head, she would've easily succeeded. having two emotional breakdowns was definitely not something she was used to, let alone any at all. She was almost as shot mentally as she was physically, and if not for the thoughts running through her head, she would've easily succeeded.

With her little bit of 'strength' to barely escape the grasp of sleep, her thoughts were prevalent enough to keep her up but without enough direction to really be well thought-out. The first came when she had heard the page turn of a book, obviously hinting her that Blake was reading. As such, Blake was on her mind first.

_Man…Blake was definitely letting her claws come out today. She definitely let Weiss have it._

Yes, even in sleep, Yang was still the master of puns.

_I knew they were still mad at each other, but...damn. It was as if the second some fuel was applied the fire went off, I guess literally in my case. _

_What the hell had gotten into her? Almost out of nowhere she just started attacking Weiss. I mean I know she was being a little harsh to Ruby but it's not as if she hasn't before, right? After all they are part-_

As if on queue, a very particular red-haired girl had unfolded her scythe, obviously performing maintenance to make sure it was up to par after the grimm clearing. The sounds had startled Yang enough to shift her head towards the sound and see her Sister look over her Scythe with the common look of determination that came with her weapon. Yang started to think back to after her second breakdown, the way that Ruby looked before she tried to calm her.

_I…I made her cry…I ruined everything._

She took total blame for what had happened to Ruby, blaming her sadness on no one but herself.

_I should have stopped the conversation, not just stood there are let them yell at each other. I'm her big sister damnit! This is our team, and I should be helping her! She's had no one else but me for so long…I can't leave her now…but she doesn't want to be a child anymore…what do I do?_

Yang was so caught up in her own sulking about Ruby that she didn't notice Weiss coming out of the shower and fixing her hair in her mirror. However with the majority of the sound once again gone from the room the sound of a brush through hair and snapped Yang out once again from her thoughts, now shifting her head towards the mirror. Although rather than more sulking like with thoughts of her past two teammates, a small smile came to her face upon seeing the heiress through glassy eyes. Mentally at this point she was running on fumes, so she was bound to pass out any second. But before that, she took some time to think about her day with Weiss.

_I know you and Blake were having it out today Weiss, but I'm still glad you were there with me, and for me. _

She took a moment to remember the two breakdowns, and how each time Weiss was there with open arms and a caring hug; the Ice queen had made sure to cool her off.

_I've always known you weren't as bad as everyone thinks: you're abrasive, but that doesn't mean that you're evil, you're just a little…cold. Then again, maybe I…need a little every…once in…a…while…Thanks Weis…_

With that final thought, Yang finally let sleep take her with a smile on her face as her final thought was about her temporary partner.

_**Weiss**_

_Ahhhhh. Finally, a moment to relax._  
After her long day on the hunt and dealing with her team, Weiss was more than happy to enjoy her time taking a shower to collect her thoughts and calm her nerves as the warm water had slowly calmed her physical exhaustion. That being said they did little for her mental unrest, especially about a raven-haired Faunus on her team.

_How dare she yell at me like that! That insolent little- _Weiss had cut off her own thoughts as she had dropped her bar of soap onto the floor. Picking it back up, she continued her previous train of thought.

_Since when were her and the dolt such good friends anyway. It's not like they've exactly talked more than normal, and it's not like they've ever necesarilly clicked together._

Her thoughts then began to drift off as she thought to her short attention-spanned partner. _Ruby._

_Acting her usual self today, no kind of thoughts for what's going on around her. I suppose I shouldn't have seen it as anything different. _Weiss always saw Ruby as a child, if not because of their first impression of each other, then simply because the first impression made continuous re-appearances over the time of their partnership.  
_Who even known how much stress she must've put on Blake today: running all over the place, being reckless in battle, probably making comments about her stupid cat ears all day! I almost feel bad for Blake…almost._

Having finished her shower and gotten into her attire, she passed by the young girl looking over crescent rose.

_And then there's that weapon! She's so obsessed with it! I still remember overhearing her in the locker room at orientation calling it sweetheart…Then again I suppose in the end it's just who the dolt is._

Weiss looked over herself in the mirror before going to sleep, seeing the scar over her eye and thinking of her old promise she made to Ruby.  
_You may aggravate me more than I could ever possibly imagine…but I still will be the best teammate on this team. Then again, I suppose a teammate needs to impress more than the leader…_

As she laid in bed ready to sleep, she took one last look across the room at her other two teammates. As soon as she saw Yang sleeping, she thought back to the events of today, but kept replaying when she was yelling at Yang when they started out their trip.

_Yang…I've been horrible to you…I never could see why you do what you do around here. _

Weiss kept replaying the same line Yang had said over and over again in her head: _"I've just been doing the only thing I know h-how to do: try to make you all h-happy." _Weiss couldn't help but not only find a newfound admiration at Yang's cheery nature, but also an understanding of why she always seemed too invested in everyone's mood. It was also why she's able to look at her confrontation with Blake and Ruby in stride, knowing she was only trying to return the favor.

_It didn't take long for me to gather that you've done more than your fair share of caring for us Yang. It definitely got out of hand, and I'll have to make sure to apologize for that tomorrow, but overall I'm happy that I at least stood up for you when it counted. Hopefully over time I can make sure to do my part…after all that's what a good teammate is…_

Just like her fiery counterpart Weiss could feel sleep overtaking her, taking stride in knowing that she would make sure Yang got her due.

_**Ruby**_

_Man, glad I decided to do this now instead of tomorrow morning, you got quite a bit of work done today didn't you? _Ruby took a second to admire her scythe yet again as she unfolded it. It was one of her favorite things in the world, next to Yang. Although sometimes it got a little borderline: there was on incident with the metal detectors at a museum near the time she had made it. They may as well have pulled on Yang's hair and then challenged her to a hand-to-hand match.

_Hm…I'll have to sharpen the blade more in the morning, it seems to have gotten duller with the battle. Maybe if I- _Ruby's train of thought was momentarily cut off when she heard a small thud go off in the bathroom. It was near inaudible, so Ruby knew it was nothing serious. _Weiss must've just dropped her shampoo or something. _Immediately upon the mention of her name Ruby began to lose a bit of general enthusiasm.

_What happened to her today? I know she has a tendency to make a comment sometimes, but today it just seemed she was full-on yelling at me. _Ruby remembered back to the scowl on her face, the glare from her eyes. _Maybe it was just a bad week for her, or maybe she just didn't like the partner switch for today, or maybe…_As Ruby was trying to list off potential reasons in her head, she hadn't even noticed Weiss pass her and slip into bed.

_Oh well, I guess it's just Weiss being Weiss. I'm sure things will smooth over eventually, after all we are partners. _For some reason Ruby's mind drifted off back to their first day of classes, where Weiss ended up abruptly waking her up from studying to get her coffee. She still remembered the words she said.  
"_Ruby…I think you have what it takes to be a good leader. Just know that I am going to be the best teammate you'll ever have."  
I just hope that's still true…_

Feeling tired from all her thoughts Ruby quickly changed and slipped into bed. She turned the lights off knowing she was the last one into bed for the night. That was except for Blake's lamp next to her bed, it was always on if she was up later than the rest so she could read. Once Ruby was in bed she looked across the room and was now eye level with the sleeping Yang across from her.

_Yang…_Ruby slowly started to remember the events of previously, how Yang burst with her semblance, only to walk off and come back crying. Ruby thought back to Weiss:  
"_Can't you see that Yang's done enough for you?"_

Ruby couldn't help but remember those words. Yang and Ruby have been inseparable for as long as Ruby remembers knowing Yang. She always wanted to spend her time with Ruby

_I can't help but worry about what Weiss meant…I've relied on Yang my whole life…she's the only one who's been there for me when I've needed someone. _It wouldn't take anyone more than an hour to realize that Yang and Ruby might as well be conjoined at the hip. In her mind though after the day, Ruby was starting to question that ideal.

_What's the point of being so connected with Yang if she thinks that I'm smothering her…I would never want to do that._

The agonizing silence that left Ruby's thinking inturmoil was cut through with the sound of a turning page.

_Blake. _

When Ruby remembered who it had come from, her dreariness was lessened a bit for reasons she couldn't think of at the moment. She just credited it to how fun her day was today, the thoughts of which only progressed the good vibes she seemed to need.

_Having her a partner for the day was AWESOME! _Ruby slowly started recounting what she was able to do with Blake for the day. She got to run, fight some Grimm, she even made some cool plans in the process for future fighting styles should they need it again. She used that as a secondary mental reminder to eventually make up some duo names in case Ozpin wanted to try this sort of team building tactic again _**Oh come on, you all have to admit that season 2 episode against the Mech was the best **_

_It was the best of the hunts so far I'd say! Usually with Weiss there's some kind of overcomplicated plan, Blake was just all like go out there and get their attention, and I was just like yea cool, and then we were all like "kyaaa, Wa-chaaaa". _ Ruby was having a little too much fun recalling the day, even making karate-chop movements from under her sheets.

_It was great! Well at least until after it was over…_Again, Ruby began thinking of the crazy confrontation. She started replaying it again, looking for whatever caused the whole ordeal in the first place. Instead though, she had come to a realization.

_Blake…protected me? _

Ruby realized that every time Blake had talked, it was on her behalf, or trying to help her in some way.

_Weiss was yelling at me and Yang wasn't exactly happy with me…Blake protected me from them. Well from Weiss at least. _Ruby began to feel much better realizing that Blake was looking out for her. She quickly opened her eyes and took a quick look at Blake before shutting her eyes once more to prepare herself to go to sleep.

_We'll probably end up having to talk about it in the morning. But…thanks for being there for me Blake. _

With that, Ruby was the next to drift off into sleep.

_**Blake**_

_Yes Náge, please pick her! She's the one you've been fighting for!_

Blake was very much enjoying reading her book Ninjas of Love. She would never admit that someone like herself loved the cheesy romance novels, especially those with some…more adult…implications. That being said, she was always willing to sneak into the book store and grab the next in the series whenever possible.

She always looked forward to this point later on in the night: when everyone would be getting ready for sleep, and she was free to lay in her bead and begin catching up on whatever book she may have been interested in on that day. Usually silence would've benefitted her, but today she knew as well as everyone else that the silence wasn't exactly voluntary. The sound of a bed creaking above her reminded her of that, as her partner was sleeping above her.

_Man, for Yang of all people to be this tired…something must've happened for sure. _Blake's mind went back to when RWBY entered their room, where no less than 5 minutes after entering Yang was changed and in her bed sleeping.  
_That semblance burst she had when we re-grouped…I haven't seen her act like that since orientation. Was she really that aggravated?_

Being Yang's partner Blake has been with her for a long time and has seen her in a variety of situations. She's seen Yang against Grimm, against sleezy guys looking at her, even that one incident when Juane almost cut her hair…he didn't touch a scissor for almost a month straight after that. But never when her semblance started to go off did it go in such a quick moment.  
_Were we really being that bad…_Blake started to feel guilty at letting the conversation drag out the way it did the other day. _  
I suppose it's a good thing that in whatever way Weiss managed to calm her down._

As if on que Weiss had finally gotten out of the shower and was walking towards the mirror before going to sleep, checking some elements of her appearance it looked like. Seeing her in that way Blake already felt another small surge of anger.

_It's not like it was all my fault it happened, she's just as much to blame on the whole thing. _

The only thing Blake could remember regarding Weiss from their altercation, minus her going to help Yang, was the way she focused almost everything negative she could at Ruby.

_It's almost as if she's given Ruby a huge target on her forehead that says "Please yell insults here". And to Ruby of all people! She's always done a lot more for Weiss then she deserves, not including everything she already told me about today. I can't imagine what kind of thoughts must be pushing through her mind to keep this going all the time, let alone the kinds of things it implants in poor Ruby's mind._

Half lost in her thoughts and the other half slowly reading the book Blake hadn't even noticed that the lights were off already minus her lamp, and the last member of RWBY was in bed sound asleep. Blake took a look up to see their "fearless leader" asleep with her arm hanging over the side and her mouth half open and smiling. Blake couldn't help but smile at the sight of a peaceful little Ruby.

_When all was said and done, today was a fun day I'll admit.  
_Blake slowly began to think of the earlier half of the outing: Running around with Ruby, seeing the smile on her face when she could run, the Grimm fight they had together. Everything just seemed to fit into place. Except for the end fight of course between the team members.

_I can't say I'm proud of having let that get where it did, but you deserve someone to protect you against the Ice Queen. I can't fathom what makes you want to impress her in the first place, but regardless of why you won't be taking so much crap from her anymore as long as I'm here. _

Blake had thought back to what Ruby had said before their Grimm battle, how scared she looked at the thought of Weiss finding out what she had been doing. As much as Blake had been upset re-thinking it, she couldn't help but smile at how Ruby's caring nature really lead her to do all this for Weiss despite her constant tongue-lashing.

_She really does want to show Weiss how much she's grown, and I'll be damned if Weiss undermines that for Ruby._

Thinking about everything after the reading she had been doing left her at the same level of exhaustion as her teammates, but not without taking one last look at Ruby, her smile closed and cuddling with her sheets sound asleep.

_I know after today things seem a little tense with everyone, but you shouldn't have to fix this one on your own. You don't have to impress anyone Ruby, especially not me after today, and I'll make sure you don't have to feel like that anymore, not while I'm around. _

Feeling like she had her fill of reading and mental expenditures for the night, Blake had gotten up to put her double book on her shelf, shut off her lamp, and let herself be the last girl in the RWBY dorm to embrace sleep and prepare for the impending morning.

**A/N ****Slowly Peeks out from behind cover  
****…I'm going to hope you're less mad at me now?  
****Lack of Rock Throwing  
****Cool!  
****Comes back into open**

**Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed! Now that everyone's thoughts are straightened out and understood you guys can at least understand why what's to come will happen. I have an idea of a plot-line for this story in my head, I just kinda need to organize it and hope it all works out, which it should as long as I can manage to keep with it (which I should, if it's otherwise I'll definitely make sure to put an A/N with it this time around rather than just keeping you all in the dark). The next 2 chapters are for the most part planned out though, so as far as I'm concerned the next two chapters at least I should have no issues with uploading timely :).**

**So a quick fill in on my time off: basically last year in the start of Fall my girlfriend had a moment of weakness, to the point where it was a life threatening type of thing, and this scared me to death so a lot of things kinda became second priority, this kinda being on the lower and just because at that point school was supposed to be first priority. Plus with my band stuff I had to learn how to play quads from bass drum (anyone whos in a drumline can imagine the struggle there, for those not drum oriented I went from a really big drum where I only had to hit 2 things slowly, to having 5 different drum options and playing crazy ass solos and shit, which was awesome but still really hard), so that took up a lot of free time since I obviously had to practice for games and performances and stuff. So all that pretty much took up all my time in fall, and Winter I went back to my job only it became a little more demanding so I had less free time in that regard, and Spring semester was more band stuff and harder classes so I had about the same amount of free time which isn't a lot :p. Me and things with my gf have been…well they've been, not quite sure how to explain it. Basically she has less free time then I do, to the point where literally if I see her either it's while she's doing work or in a group scenario when she's like getting food before doing more work, so it's been tough for me to say the least. And obviously now with finals coming up were both still stressed out and for her it may as well be putting her over the edge, so pretty much I'm just trying to get by until things can get better and kinda cool down.**

**Now don't get me wrong, I haven't forgotten about you guys in this time :) I still got the e-mails about favorites and follows, and I would feel bad that I didn't write more or tell you guys what was going on, I wanted to at least wait until I was in a better position and could actually write the next chapter. Luckily with this it's almost like another prologue since it's at the turning point where they can start to form their own relationships since the others don't seem to be as well as they used too (Yang thinking Ruby doesn't like her, Ruby worrying she hurt Yang, Weiss and Blake going rawr rawr rage rawr, DON'T FORGET IT'S ONLY POST SEASON 1 HERE), so it'll be better in that regard. So as far as I'm concerned at least I can have a solid area to start and let myself get back into the mindset of the story. **

**As a P.S. to all that, note that in time I may re-write this chapter in particular and if anyone has suggestions or ideas to make it better feel free to tell me, imo it's not the best work I've done and I kinda hope that after pushing through this one I'll be able to write the rest more easily, but regardless I'm just glad to be back :).**

**P.P.S. To all of you new favoriters/followers I am so sorry you have to wait! A lot of you are new and I want to say hello again and I hope to not be gone for so long this time around :)**

**Feel free to review or PM with questions or hellos, all of which are appreciated :)**

**Thanks again guys, happy "Tuesday"!**

**Gets hit with a large rock to the arm**

**I THOUGHT WE WERE DONE WITH THAT!?**

**Looks to the horizion as the sunlight starts to fade**

**Um…****Takes Step back****..Uh…****Takes another step back****…EHERMAGERDSORRYLOVEYOUBYEPLEASEDONTKILLMEH**

**Begins running from onslaught of rocks.**

**Andrew (135246)**


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